Chapter 29: Warning Bells

                You used your key to unlock the door to your aunt’s apartment before turning around and waving to Jiyong. He waved back before you walked into the apartment and closing the door. “Ahjumma?” you called as you removed your shoes and walked into the living room.

                Your aunt was sitting on the chair in the living room, holding a slightly warn picture in her hands. Her hair was a mess and a cup of tea was sitting on the floor near her. Tears were rolling down her cheeks silently as she stared at the picture, obviously lost in memories of some sort. “Ahjumma?” you called, softly as you slowly walked towards her.

                She blinked quickly and wiped her eyes before looking up at you, “Oh, ______-ah, I didn’t hear you come in.” You looked at her worriedly, but she stood and slipped the picture into her robe’s pocket. “I think I’m going to go to bed now. You can stay up a little later if you want,” she said before quickly walking to her room, not giving you the chance to say anything. “What was that about?” you wondered before picking up the mug on the floor. It had gone cold, signaling that she had been sitting there for quite some time.

                You dumped the contents down the drain and put the mug in the dishwasher before walking to your room. You quickly changed before lying down on the bed. You sighed before curling up under the covers and trying to go to sleep.

                The next day, you felt like a zombie as you walked to your class. You had gotten maybe an hour or two of sleep last night. For some reason, you just couldn’t get to sleep. At least the kids in your class were leaving you alone now. Even Eunsook was giving you some space.

                When the lunch bell rang, you got ready to go to the roof only to realize that that probably wasn’t the best idea. Instead, you walked down to the courtyard and found a table to eat at. “Are these seats taken?” Jiyong asked with Daesung standing next to him. “What are you two doing here?” you asked, slightly surprised. “You already know my reason,” Jiyong mumbled before sitting down next to you.

                “You’re my friend too,” Daesung said with a smile before sitting down across from the two of you. You smiled and began to perk up a little bit as Daesung joked around, trying to make you feel better. He even got you to laugh a little bit at one of his jokes. “There’s your laugh, I was thinking someone might have stolen it!” Daesung exclaimed, making you chuckle again.

                “Do you want to hang out again today?” Jiyong asked right as lunch was ending. “I would love to, hyung,” Daesung smiled at him, but the smile didn’t feel exactly right. “I was talking to ______,” Jiyong replied, giving him a similar smile back. “Yeah I’d like to hang out with you,” you said with a nod before the bell rang. Daesung sighed as Jiyong got up to walk you to class and followed closely behind.

                After school, Jiyong met you by your class before walking to his car with you. “Where are we going to go?” you asked as you clicked your seatbelt. “I thought we could just hang out. If you have someplace you want to go, just let me know.”

                “Can we go to that one café again?”

                “The one we went to yesterday?” you nodded, “Sure we can go there. They’ll be a little busier today though.”

                “It’s okay; I can do my homework while we wait.” It was about an hour wait, so you got through most of your homework with Jiyong’s help. Finally, the two of you got a table together and ordered quickly so hopefully you could eat soon. “I told you they would be busy,” Jiyong said, trying to talk over all of the other people in the place.

                Your dinner was good and the coffee was better. “I’ll pay,” you offered, but he held his hand up. “No, I’m the guy. I’ll pay.” You nodded and continued eating, trying not to smile too much. He was too sweet. “Do you want dessert?” he asked, suddenly. You shook your head, “No, I think I’m fine with this. We can always get something later if we’re hungry.”

                After the café, Jiyong walked with you down the street to a park. You found an empty swing set and sat down. He sat down next to you and gently rocked back and forth alongside you. “I never told you why I started liking you, right?” he asked and you nodded. “You said you didn’t want to tell me though.”

                “Do you want to know?”

                “If you want to tell me.”

                “I think I should.”

                “Then tell me,” you said with a laugh. “Alright but promise not to laugh at me when I’m done.”

                “I promise.”

                “Okay…Hm…how should I start? Ah…So when I first started high school, I argued with my parents a lot. It was pretty much every day that I would get into it with them. After every fight, I would run down here, to this park. Man…I sound like a girl, but I’ll continue,” you smiled but didn’t laugh, “Anyways, one day when I was here, I saw this one kid getting picked on. They had to be in elementary school, so it wasn’t anything that bad. At least, that’s what I thought, but they the kid getting picked on started crying. People walked by and didn’t do anything about it. He just stood there as the older kids hurled insults at him.

                “Right when I was about to go do something, you walked up to them and scared the bullies away. You even scared the crying kid a little bit. I watched as you sat down and pulled him onto your lap. You comforted him until he stopped crying and then you went with him to go play. I thought you were really weird, but nice. I started noticing you more often then. You were always acting like a hero. I don’t know why, but I started falling for you because of that.”

                “You like me because of my hero’s complex?” you asked with a small laugh. “Hey! I told you not to laugh!” he exclaimed, making you laugh even more. “But, that’s kind of sweet. No one has ever liked me so it’s weird to think that I could get someone to like me because I scare little kids.”

                “Lots of guys have liked you, you just haven’t noticed.”

                “How do you know that?”

                “Because when you like someone, you notice everything. Trust me, a lot of guys have liked you,” he said with a sigh. “Why didn’t you ever talk to me before?” you asked before getting up off of the swing. Maybe if you had met him first, you wouldn’t be in this situation with Seungri. Maybe you would have fallen for Jiyong instead. “You’re a little difficult to approach,” he explained before getting up as well.

                “I’m sorry,” you sighed before his arms wrapped around your waist from behind. “Don’t be sorry, I should have tried harder. Then maybe I would’ve kept your heart safe,” he whispered, his chin resting on your shoulder. “I think I should go back home now,” you said, pulling yourself out of his arms. You weren’t ready to have a conversation like this with him.   

                “Yeah, alright,” he agreed. The rest of the ride home, you were quiet. He filled the silence with music in the car, but turned it down once he stopped in front of your aunt’s apartment. “Thanks, Oppa,” you said, about to get out. “Wait,” he grabbed your hand and tugged you closer to him. You turned and your eyes widened as his lips collided with yours.