Daniel just confessed you he never dated anyone before. You would have never imagined that since he was always surrounded by female classmates. He was popular and you were sure he also was popular in school. He had a lot of friends both female and male. And you were sure every girl thought he was boyfriend material. Something didn't make sense.

“Are you perhaps... gay?” Maybe he and Ong...

“I'm not gay, Sohye.”

The waitress interrupted you by bringing two cups of hot chocolate. It already smelled amazing. You had a sip from your cup. Daniel was right, the drink was delicious. It soon warmed your body.

“So you like girls,” you said after a while. “Is Ong your bestfriend?”

He nodded and you could see his eyes were sparkling but sad at the same time, if that made sense.

“He's a friend that I respect. He's always good to me.”

“You sound like you admire him.”

He thought about it. “Yes, I guess you could say that.”

Suddenly, you had a Daniel telling you about his secrets at a cozy and romantic café sitting at a small table so close to each other, holding each one a warm cup of hot chocolate.

“I'm from Busan as you know. I came to Seoul alone and had no friends nor relatives. I came by myself so I can finish my studies. I went to a school in Busan, you know, a small school where everyone knows each other well. Then, coming to this big city and starting college alone with no friends was really hard for me.” He bit his lips, not sure if he should continue. You nodded to reassure him.

>>I know Jisung hyung since forever but since his older than me we don't see much at college and I had a hard time making new friends. I can't approach someone first, especially to strangers. Ong hyung was the first one to approach me. He was a really friendly and funny hyung. However, he is in the extroverted side as you can see. I wouldn't be as popular as I am now if it wasn't for Ong hyung. He's charismatic, charming, funny and smart. Thanks to him, I met a lot of friends and gained confidence. I can't help it but laugh at everything he says and does. If it wasn't for him I'd probably be no one. Jisung hyung, Jaehwan, Jihoon and Woojin were also a strength for me during all these years. I might sound cheesy but all of them bring the best out of me.”

You imagined a shy and introverted Kang Daniel in his first day of classes. You imagined a big scared puppy and it made you want to protect him. Your heart softened and looked at him with warmth eyes.

You added a new good quality to your list of good things about Daniel. He was a good person. You never heard him say bad things about anyone. He adored his friends. And was always thankful for everything.

How silly you were all this time judging him without knowing him.

**

You hurried your hot chocolate.

“Can I pay the drinks, please? When we went to a café for the first time you paid.”

“I'll let you just because you were a good listener.” He smiled.

You waved at the waitress and asked her for the bill. She approached with a maternal smile and told you the drinks were on the house.

“They are for free? Why?”

She just smiled and removed the empty cups and left.

You spent more time than expected in the café. You checked the time in your wristwatch. It was already 6pm. Wow, time passed really fast. It was getting dark outside so you decided to head back to your respective houses. You took the subway and exited at the station near the college. You walked your usual twenty minutes walk.

You couldn't stop thinking why they gave you drinks for free. They were holding some kind of a couple event?

“Perhaps... the waitress was your friend? She's pretty.”

“No, I don't know her. Really? I didn't notice she was pretty.”

“Yeah, sure. All men notice a pretty woman. They love them!”

“I don't know her but I know the owner. She's my mom's friend. Everytime she comes to Seoul she goes there.”

The air was cold and you shivered. Daniel noticed it. He took off his jacket and put it over your shoulders.

“Thanks,” you murmured. That small action made you heart flutter.

“Pretty,” he mumbled. You weren't sure if he said pretty or not since he said it so quietly. “I told you something only few people know about me. It's your turn now,” he said.

“Uh? There's nothing to know about me.”

It was dark but you still could see the frown on his face.

“Now that I think about it, I don't know anything about you. I know where you live, where you study and that you like sweets a lot. Besides that, I know nothing about you. Your likes, your dislikes, your dreams, your favorite color, your favorite song. You never tell me anything about you.”

“There's nothing to know about me,” you repeated.

“I tell you everything about me. Why can't you open up to me? We agreed to be friends so that means you don't hate me anymore.” He stopped to walk and faced towards you. “Friends talk about everything. Don't you trust me?”

“I would love to say that I do but...”

“I thought after all this time you would open up to me a little more.”

“I can't trust people easily. It's true that I don't hate you but I can't fully trust you... yet.”

Talking about trivial things was okay but once you tell someone about your personal life and secrets, they can easily hurt you.

“I don't understand your feelings,” he said frustrated. “I'm not sure if you like me or not. One day seems like you do and the other seems like you don't.”

“I like being with you but... I don't know, it's complicated.” You were tired and stressed with the whole situation. It was a perfect Saturday until then. You didn't want to talk about it anymore. “Stop pushing me, please. Can't we just keep being like this? We talk, we hang out, we eat delicious food. We're doing great this way.”

“And what about my feelings?”

You left out a sight. “What about your feelings?”

“I like you!”

Your eyes opened widely and looked at him surprised. Then you recovered from your shock. Did you hear well?

“As a friend, don't you?”

“No, not as a friend, but as a lover. I like you, Sohye. I like you a lot. I want to be with you, not just a friend but as your boyfriend. Isn't it obvious? I know our relation is not normal, but I'm also sure we're not just friends.”

You looked down at your feet in the darkness. You wanted to believe in his words. You really wanted.

“To be honest, I always wanted to talk to you. It was thanks to that incident at the library, when we talked for the first time.” Another confession.

“I wasn't exactly friendly to you.”

“You weren't,” he admitted. “But you gave me confidence to talk to you again, you could say that thanks to that encounter, the barrier between us broke. When I saw your new face at the first day of classes I was surprised at how beautiful you were. You weren't like the other girls. You didn't follow me or talked to me just because you were interested in my looks. It was the first time someone caught my attention, actually.”

“Daniel...”

He surrounded you with his arms and held you tightly into his chest.

“You don't have to like me back now. I can love you for both of us. I know, it's hasn't been long enough since we know each other. I'll wait for you all the time you need.”

And then you cried. You cried for a long time. Daniel surrounded you with his arms tightly and held you into his chest.

“I'm scared. I had a bad experience in my past relationship,” you confessed. Your first confession.

His arms tensed around you and then he caressed the back of your head. “It's okay. It's okay,” he repeated and hugged you tightly. You felt secure in his arms.

After you cried the last drop of tear, Daniel accompanied you to your house.

“I'm sorry, I pushed you and didn't considere your feelings. You don't have to tell me everything now. I'll wait.” He gave you an apologizing smile and gave you a hug before leaving.

You managed to catch his hand before he left. “Can you stay?”

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oow a lot is going on in this chapter, i hope you like it though