Chapter 22
My boyfriend has a bandThe sun was setting as the two unlikely friends continued to roam around the streets of Seoul. Despite it being close to 8pm, the streets were still busy and so full of life, probably because it was a Friday evening.
Mingyu was still stunned over what he had told Jinah but he didn't say anything else about it. Something inside him just felt that they were going to be together for quite some time.
The awkward air that usually surrounded them whenever they were together felt surprisingly calm and comfortable for the first time. Mingyu being mostly quiet and calm found it interesting to be with Jinah who was bubbly and always full of excitement, and the same goes for Jinah.
Mingyu ambled along and watched as his new friend hopped down the street like a child, her hands in her coat pockets and the beanie on her head bouncing as she quietly whispered, "Cold, Cold, Cold!"
"Yah, if you get cold easily, why don't you wear thicker clothes?" Mingyu nudged her as he started taking off his woollen scarf.
Grabbing Jinah by her shoulders so she'd stop jumping, he turned her to face him and wrapped the scarf around her neck. Being a head shorter than him, the scarf practically ate her up.
"There, that should keeep you warm," Mingyu chuckled as he too realised that it looked especially huge and fluffy on her.
Jinah opened to speak but was interrupted by the ringing of her phone.
akkyeo neol akkyeo neol hyeongijeung nal jeongdoro~ akkinda!
"Oops, 1 sec," Jinah fumbled with the contents of her bag, her hand fishing for her phone.
"What is up with your ringtone?" Mingyu said in exasperation as he watched her dig through her bag.
"Oh, you don't know them?" Jinah looked up from her bag, her ringtone continued to blast as she started to bop along to the song, "They're called Seventeen and they just debuted,"
Mingyu shot her a look that clearly said "Hurry up and find your phone so you can make that stupid song stop"
Finally after an obnoxiously long minute, Jinah found her phone, "Hey, wait a sec," She stretched out her hand to turn Mingyu's face towards her. Moving his head from side to side with her hand, she said, "You look like one of their members!"
"Oh I do?" Mingyu gasped, sarcasm dripping off his every word
"Yeah you do!" Jinah didn't seem to catch his drift, "You look like that tall one!"
Rolling his eyes, Mingyu was thankful that she finally picked up the call.
"Hello! This is Im Jinah!" She chirped, her face glowing under the dim street lamps.
Mingyu stood at the side and watched her face turn from happy to sullen as she took the call. She exchanged a few words with the caller, and Mingyu swore that she looked like she was about to cry.
"And you're telling me that because..?" Jinah sounded impatient, her sadness turning into rage, "Since when have you regarded me as your daughter?"
"Yeah well, I'm done here!" She huffed before angrily dumping her phone into her bag.
"Are you alright?" Mingyu said quietly,
"Do you like street food?" Jinah blurted out at the same time.
Shrugging, Mingyu replied, "I guess,"
"Great. Let's go," Jinah grabbed his hand and dragged him down the street.
-----
Mingyu thought that they'd only come to the street food stall near their house to get some fishcakes and rice cakes but he was so wrong.
"Uh, I think you should stop now," Mingyu stood up from his seat and reached across to take the bottle of soju from Jinah's hands.
Smiling, Jinah waved her hand continuously as she slurred, "It's all good, homie! I've got high tolerance," She leaned forward to grab the bottle but Mingyu pulled it away causing her to fall flat on the table.
"Jinah, this is your 5th bottle," Mingyu said sternly as he set the bottle down on the floor before getting off his seat to help her up.
"We gotta go home now," Mingyu muttered as he gently tried to make her stand up.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Jinah suddenly screamed causing the whole shop to give them suspicious glances.
Shocked, Mingyu let go of her and held up his hands in surrender as he retreated back to his seat. Jinah plopped back down, mumbling incoherent words.
He was so going to kill her when she's sober.
"Mingyu!" Jinah whisper-yelled.
"What," He said with a tinge of annoyance as he stuffed his face with more fishcakes.
"Just now," Jinah looked him in the eye, "Just now, my Dad called!"
"Alright, and?" Mingyu found out that she was the talkative drunk.
"And he told me a piece of great new!" She laughed, "He told me that he was getting married... Again!"
Mingyu was at a loss for words. He remembered that time in the car when Jieun told him that Jinah lived alone because her parents didn't really care about her.
"He wants me..." She hit her chest a few times, "to attend his wedding! How exciting!"
"Jinah, you're really drunk. I think we should be getting you home," Mingyu got up from his seat.
Jinah took the shot glass back from him, soju all over both of them, "I'm not drunk, how dare you.. I'm the soberest girl in this room!" She slammed the shot glass down on the table. A few of the other customers turned to look at them, some of them chuckling.
"Okay, continue," Mingyu decided that it was best to let her continue her rant or he'll never be able to go home.
"As I was saying," Jinah looked up dramatically as if she was in deep thought, "WhatwasIsaying? Ohyes, my dad is remarrying for the 4th time! And you know what is the best part, Mingyu?"
Mingyu lifted his brows, an inquiring look on his face.
"The best part is that he wants my approval!" She practically yelled, "He wants approval from the daughter who he called a reject! He wants approval from the daughter he wished he never had! Lovely," Jinah said, her words tumbling from in a rush of barely distinguishable syllables.
It was then that Mingyu saw her in a different light. Instead of the strong-willed, bubbly girl, Mingyu saw a little girl who was lost and vulnerable, someone who has probably never experience care and affection. Something tugged at his heart and before he knew what he was doing, he took her hand in his.
"Hey, it's okay," Mingyu gently squeezed her hand, "I have no idea what you've been through but I'll be with you now every step of the way. You don't have to go through things alone anymore,"
To this, Jinah perked up, "Are you my friend now?"
Mingyu nodded, chuckling at how childlike she was.
For a moment it was silent and Mingyu thought that she might've fallen asleep.
"...that's urrr... sooooo... um...? warmmmmm" Jinah suddenly said looking down at Mingyu's hand in hers.
"Okay, you're definitely not the soberest girl in the room right now," Mingyu got up and brushed his jeans before helping her up from her seat, "Let's go home,"
"Home?" Jinah slurred.
"Yes, home," Mingyu said.
"Is....home....a nice place?" Jinah added, stumbling over her words.
"It's a place where it's warm and comfy," Mingyu rolled his eyes, smiling.
"Oooh, will you be there?" Jinah muttered slowly as Mingyu struggled to get her on his back.
"Yes- oomf, Jinah," Mingyu sighed as he wrapped her arms over his neck, ensuring that she was secure before he piggybacked her home.
"Yay, let's go home~~" Jinah said in a sing song voice before snuggling into his neck and falling asleep.
---
The walk home was quiet with the occasional pants coming from Mingyu breaking the silence.
"You know, I feel like a reject too, sometimes," Mingyu blurted out, knowing that no one could hear him. He sighed as he thought of Minji, the image of her with Soonyoung still freshly etched in his mind.
"I don't know why I still hold on, to be honest. It's so hard seeing someone you like so much with another person," Mingyu continued as he trudged up the hill, "I know it's selfish but why can't it be me? It's always been her for me. Always,"
All of a sudden, Jinah yawned loudly, startling Mingyu. Oh shoot, how long has she been awake? Did she hear me?
"Mingyu," Jinah mumbled quietly, "Sometimes, rejects want to feel loved too,"
Mingyu remained silent as they neared his house.
"And because of that..." Jinah said slowly, "Because of that, they hold on,"
Turning to face her, Mingyu watched as she fell back alseep, her eyes fluttered as she closed them, her beautiful face illuminated under the bright light of the moon.
Is it time to let go?
----
When they finally reached his house, Mingyu tiptoed to his room, careful not to wake Jinah up.
As he set her down gently on the bed, she snuggled into the pillow, mumbling incoherent words happily. Grabbing the thickest blanket he could find, he wrapped it around her carefully.
When he turned to leave, Jinah suddenly grabbed his arm. She yanked him down next to her before reaching out to hug him, "You're warm,"
Mingyu tensed up under her tight grip as he lay down beside her awkwardly. He tried moving out of her arms but she held onto him too tightly so he decided that he had no choice but to sleep here for the night. Anyway, if she decides to yell at him tomorrow for sharing the bed, he'd simply tell her that she was the one who initiated it.
The house was quiet except for Jinah's steady and soft breaths but Mingyu was still unable to fall asleep.
Just as he was about to shut his eyes, Jinah spoke up quietly, "Mingyu?"
He hummed in response.
"You said home is a place but why do I feel like it's a person?" Jinah said and Mingyu wondered how her head had somehow managed to find it's way to his chest.
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A/N: omg i'm back!! idk if u guys stil keep up or remember this story but here's the next chapter!! I hope u like iT & be sure to comment because comments keep me going! <33 love yall
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