❝Chapter Twenty-Four

"What are you thinking about?" Hana asked quietly but curiously as she rubbed her best friend's back comfortingly.

Jae Hee shook her head. "I don't know. I'm just… confused."

"About what?" Yoseob sat down on the other side of her.

She shrugged and fiddled with the edge of the blanket that was around her. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do," he laughed, "Just tell us." He put an arm around her waist as she rested her head on his shoulder and told them her dilemma with Taemin and Kai.

"Taemin kissed you?!" Hana gasped in disbelief.

Jae Hee nodded.

Yoseob gawked at her, "Kai kissed you, too?!"

She nodded again.

"Geez, bad taste in women must run in the family!" He jokingly made a face.

"Yoseob!" she gasped at him.

He pouted, "What? I'm just kidding…"

She rolled her eyes and took her head off his shoulder.

Hana stared at her for a long time before she slapped the back of her head.

"Ow!" Jae Hee gaped at her best friend, "What was that for?!" She rubbed the back of her head.

"For never telling me Taemin kissed you!" Hana flicked the side of Jae Hee's head.

She yelped and rubbed her temple, "And what was that for?!"

"For not telling me Kai kissed you!" Hana glared at her.

Jae Hee pouted guiltily, "I'm sor- Oww!" she yelped when Yoseob slapped the back of her head, too, "What was that for?!" she snapped at him.

"Huh?" He blinked. "Oh, I just felt like hitting you, too." He shrugged.

"I hate you." Even though she 'hated' him, she rested her head on his shoulder again. "…It wasn't supposed to be like this," she sighed and stared at her hands in her lap.

Hana and Yoseob both gave her confused looks. "What do you mean?"

"We weren't supposed to like each other," Jae Hee mumbled, "We weren't supposed to become friends. We weren't supposed to… kiss." She started to blush a bit.

"Are you referring to Taemin or Kai?" he asked, still confused.

She thought about it before she answered, "Both."

"He really said he liked you?" Hana asked, referring to Kai.

Jae Hee nodded once, and a subtle blush could be seen on her cheeks.

"What'd you say afterwards?" Yoseob asked curiously.

She cleared , "Actually, right after that, Baekhyun had run through us. I used that opportunity to run away," she mumbled the last sentence.

"Coward," he scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Shut up." Hana and Jae Hee both snapped at him.

He pouted at them, "I was just kidding, gosh." He lightly rested his head on Jae Hee's.

"I just want this to end already…" she sighed and closed her eyes. She had gone through enough drama and bull in high school and definitely did NOT want to face anymore hardships in her life.

"Just end it now, then," Yoseob suggested.

She chuckled lightly, "I wish I could, but the deal was for me to stay until Min Hee moved on or whatever," she sighed grumpily.

"Hmm," Yoseob blinked but suddenly smiled, "How about I go on a date with her? I'm sure I could get her to move on from Kai!" he laughed jokingly.

"How about you go out on a date with her?" Hana gritted her teeth as she repeated his words, "Fine! Go on a date with her, and don't even dare come back!" she spat at him.

"Aw, what?!?!" he gawked at her, his eyes wide, "Baby, I was just kidding!!!"

"No," she frowned at him, "Get out." She pointed to the door.

"Babbbbyyyyy…" he whined as he shoved Jae Hee's head down into her lap so that he could see Hana, "I was kidding, I swear! I love you!!! I would never cheat on you~!"

She rolled her eyes and gave him a look of disgust.

"Baby, I was kidding!" he sniffled dramatically, "You know I love you and only you~! I'd be crazy to ever cheat on someone as amazing and perfect as you." At that, Jae Hee rolled her eyes and almost threw up on her lap.

"Awww…" Hana blushed and smiled shyly.

He smiled back as he leaned in and kissed her.

"…………Um……" Jae Hee's forehead was rested on her knees as her back was bent down at a ninety degree angle. In other words, she was very uncomfortable.

"Oh, sorry." They both pulled away, and Jae Hee sat back up just as her phone began to ring for the billionth time.

"It's Kai." Hana looked at the screen.

Jae Hee sighed, "I figured." She took the phone from Hana and read the text.

"What'd he say?" Yoseob asked as Jae Hee threw her phone back on the table.

She shrugged. "He just said he wanted to talk to me."

"Then you should go," he encouraged.

She pouted and shook her head as she rested it on his shoulder again, "I don't want to. He probably wants to know whether I like him, too, or not."

"And do you?" Hana rested her head on Jae Hee's shoulder. "Do you like him, too?"

"……I don't know," Jae Hee answered, "At first, I really hated him… I mean, he's just so damn cocky that it pisses me off and makes me want to just throw him off a freaking cliff or something." She scrunched her nose. "But now…" she let out another deep sigh.

For some reason she didn't know… Taemin popped into her mind.

"Aha…" Yoseob laughed lightly, "Doesn't that sound like the relationship most couples on TV have? Where they hate each other but then fall in love with each other?"

Jae Hee blinked in surprise. Why would she love Kai? He was the complete opposite of her ideal type.

What was her ideal type? Someone who wasn't afraid to put their family before themselves. Someone who was kind-hearted and gentleman-like. Someone who was funny but not more sarcastic than she was (otherwise, he would piss her off too much (and a lot of other people)). In terms of apperance, she would rather have a guy who was cute instead of hot. Honestly, though, looks were the last thing she cared about. The 'family first' part was the most important.

Jae Hee blinked again. It wasn't until now that she realized Taemin was a lot like her ideal type.

"What about Taemin?" Hana asked, "How do you feel about him?"

Jae Hee bit her lip, "……I don't know…"

"You're keeping something from us," Yoseob immediately frowned.

She blinked at him. "W-What do you m-mean?"

He rolled his eyes. "Jay, do you think I'm stupid?"

"You ranked at the bottom of your classes."

"I'm not talking school-wise!" he snapped, "And I was NOT at the bottom," he huffed dramatically, "I was NEAR the bottom."

She rolled her eyes. "That's soooooo much better."

"Yah." He narrowed his eyes at her. "I wouldn't be talking. You ranked lower than I did." At that, Jae Hee immediately shut up.

It wasn't that she was stupid. She was actually quite smart. It was just that she… I don't want to give away too much about her past (yet) so I'll just say she went through A LOT of bull that distracted her from her studies.

"What are you not telling us?" Hana asked so softly and sweetly that Jae Hee started to feel guilty.

She was never able to hide anything from these two, and she hated that. Sighing, she told them everything.

"I like you," Kai whispered against Jae Hee's lips.

Her eyes widened, and she wanted to slap herself to see if this was real or not. She just needed something to prove to her that it was real and that she wasn't dreaming and that-

"Ahh!" she yelped when Baekhyun suddenly ran through them, causing her to stumble and almost fall.

"Sorry!" he squeaked an apology and continued to run.

"YAH, GET BACK HERE!" Chanyeol yelled as he ran through Kai and Jae Hee, mud all over the back of his jeans (to be exact, his ) because Baekhyun had accidentally pushed him into the area where the sprinklers had gone off.

Before Kai could even notice, Jae Hee made a run for it. She just didn't know how to respond to his confession and wanted some time to sort her thoughts out. When she got near the bus stop, she came to a slow stop as she focused on two of the many figures there.

Taemin only stared at his feet, kicking it around as he was in deep thought. Min Hee only stared at the road in front of her, her vision clouded with her tears, which was why neither of them noticed her.

Jae Hee sighed. She really didn't want to be around them either but wanted to just go home. She sighed again and reluctantly walked a few, small, slow steps forward but stopped dead in her tracks.

"I love him so much!" Min Hee burst into sobs, "I-I mean, it's not my fault I do! You can't help who you fall for!" Jae Hee heard her loud and clear, and she was damn sure ALL of Seoul could hear her, too.

There was a long pause, but then Min Hee spoke up again, "Why can't he love me, too?!" she yelled, not caring about the fact other people were giving her strange looks, "I don't get it!!!" she closed her eyes but continued to cry, "I-I've been with him almost his wh-whole life! It was al-always me wh-who wiped his tears and ch-cheered him up…! It was always me!"

Jae Hee didn't hear Taemin respond and grew curious, thinking he was whispering something. Being the nosy person she was, she tried to think of ways to get closer to them without them noticing her presence.

Suddenly, a guy listening to music walked right by her. Assuming he was going to the bus stop, she walked and hid behind him, easily covered behind his tall figure (and because she was just that small).

"I-I love him so much!" Min Hee cried louder, "Why can't he see that?!?!" After a few minutes, she became exhausted from all the crying and gently fell asleep against his shoulder.

Sighing, Jae Hee hit her forehead. *Why am I even eavesdropping?* She was about to go out to greet them but froze when she heard Taemin's next words.

"I love you so much. Why can't you see that?"

Yoseob gently wiped small tear from Jae Hee's eye.

She blushed and rubbed her eyes.  "Must be the dust…" she mumbled to herself.

"……Seriously?" he gawked at her, "Is that how ridiculous I sound when I use that excuse?"

She pouted and punched his arm lightly, "I'm serious."

"Kim Jae Hee," Hana laughed, "You're such a loser." She hit Jae Hee's forehead.

Jae Hee pouted again and rubbed her forehead, "Why am I a loser? I'm pretty freaking AMAZING! How could I possibly be a loser?"

"No, Jay." Hana cupped her face and looked at her seriously, "You're a loser."

Jae Hee stared at her best friend, thinking about what that could possibly mean, and her eyes widened as she slowly began to understand and realize what Hana meant.

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Re-read Chapter One, if you don't get it~ c: