"Will you listen to me, if I tell you the reason behind my flirtatious ways?" he asks timidly, raising his eyes a fraction to meet mine.

I nod.

"It's going to be a long story," he warns.

I nod again.

"My father is a wealthy business man," he begins sadly, "and he's often away on business trips or staying the night in the office. He and my mother were brought together by an arranged marriage due to their family background. More often than not, he would have a different lady -each younger and prettier than the last- by his side whenever he actually showed up at home."

Lips pressing into a thin line, I shake my head in disapproval.

Taking a shaky breath, Minhyuk continues, "When I was in my 3rd year of elementary school, my mother committed suicide via consuming large amounts of sleeping pills. The adults keep saying she fell down the stairs and hit her head by accident, but I was there the that night - I saw her swallow those pills while muttering 'women...women...' to herself."

I swallow nervously, this story is starting to become too personal for my comfort, but since Minhyuk trusts me enough to tell me, I will make sure to listen until the end.

"That girl in the toilet earlier...she’s not my girlfriend," he clarifies, "As soon as I heard you come in, she completely stopped existing, and I only saw you in my eyes."

Me? No, I'm sure he would've been embarrassed regardless of who came into the bathroom at that moment.

"This is not my first time being caught at school," he slowly clasps a hand over mine cautiously, "but because it was you who happened to see me like that - I felt nauseated by myself for the first time." 

"Um..." I splutter quietly, unsure of how to react.

"Don't force yourself to speak," Minhyuk squeezes his hand around mine gently, "I've never felt this sort of emotion before, so all I ask of you is to think it through - and tell me your answer when you decide."

"Think it through, and tell me your answer when you decide."

What is there to think a