JIYONG

Yeah, I know I was being rude. I know I need to stop but I can't get myself to do it. Everytime I think of her using Dara just to get a reaction from makes my blood boil. Huh! The girl just can't take the hint. I'm done. I'm over her. What do I have to do to get that through her head?

An idea suddenly popped up into my head, making me snicker. Yeah, that would be effective but I don't think Dara's ready for that yet so nope, I won't do it - at least not in front of Suzy, hahahaha. Man, Dara has the softest lips I've ever kissed. I can still almost feel it on my mouth.

I leaned my hands back and quietly watched the fireworks display. My eyes would wander every now and then to Dara. She looked so small. She looked so tiny that I feel like I should just put her in my pocket and keep her there. The thought made me smile. I could just imagine what her reaction would be if I tell her that. Damn, she's adorable.

I'm fully aware that I've crossed the line a while ago. I'll have to apologise for that. I don't want to give excuses with how I acted. She'll forgive me whether I give her a reason or not as to why I acted that way. She'll probably make me promise not to do it again. Of course I'm not going to make any promoses I can't keep. She'll probably be pissed and will glare at me again.

I was. . . starting to see Dara as more than a classmate, more than a fun time. I  was super bored and I was bound to do something to kill the boredom and she came in right on time. It's fun messing around with her but I'm starting to see her as a friend.

You're an , Jiyong. You've been having thoughts of kissing her and you see her as a friend?

Ugh, I need to clear my head. I need to clear the air between us. She was starting to get nervous around me. I don't want to think it's because she's starting to like me but I can't help but feel like that is exactly what's going on here.

I know I said I'm going to turn her into a girl or something. To be honest, I just saw that as something fun, something to kill the boredom. I saw it as a challenge. And maybe I was partly joking. But I don't really want things to get awkward between us. What if she does end up liking me when I don't feel the same way? That'll be hella awkward.

You were asked to do it,a voice in my head reminded me. I know. I know that but I think I've seen enough to confirm it. The right thing to do is to put some distance between us. The right thing to do is to act like a normal classmate or friend towards her. No more calling at random hours. No more texting during free time. No more touching. No more kissing. No more seeing her more than what's normal.

Well .

That'll be hard.

When it was over, Dara offered to bring Suzy home to help her with the shopping bags but she declined and said she'll just take a cab.

"We need to talk," Dara said as soon as the cab started speeding away.

"Yeah, we do need to talk," I agreed. She looked genuinely surprised. "I'm sorry, I crossed the line earlier. It won't happen again."

"W-well, I. . .y-you. . . good."

"You know I'm just messing around right and it's nothing serious, right?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I make you nervous sometimes," I stated. "I know you're going to deny it but you need to stop liking me more than a friend."

"What?" she half shouted. She then frantically looked around. "Are you out of your mind? Who said anything about liking you?"

I shrugged. "Just clarifying things."

"Huh! You're not my type!"

"Uh-huh."

"I'm serious!"

"I know you are."

"Why do I have a feeling that you don't believe me?" she asked, pouting.

"Ah, you just lost your chance." Damn, she's adorable. I can't resist. "I want to kiss you."

She took a step back, her eyes going wide. "You said you're not going to do it again!"

"Yes, I did but it's your fault for being too adorable for me to resist. I'm just a human being who's weak to temptation."

"I should have known better. You can't be trusted!"

"You say that and yet you do trust me, don't you?"

"No, I don't! And will you stop staring at me like that?"

"Why should I stop when I'm liking what I'm seeing?" I asked her, leaned forward and stared at her more. My eyes darted toward her lips, my mouth curving into a smile. "Aww!" I whined when she kicked me in the shin. I watched her run with a chuckle.

Well, there goes my plan of staying away from her and doing what's right. Damn, she's too adorable for me to ignore and resist. I did give it a try, though. Yeah, I should have tried harder but I don't I can really do what I thought of a while ago.

I shook my head. Has it just been a few minutes since I planned of staying away from her? Damn, I didn't last that long. "Hey, wait up!" I called as I ran after her.

"Stay away from me!" she called back.

I laughed. I just thought of doing that. I just tried doing that as well but nope, not going to happen.

I don't know for how long she tried getting away from me - we switched from running to walking to jogging. It was pretty late already. I don't know how on earth we ended up not taking a bus or a cab.

She was a few meters up ahead of me. "Hey!" I called.

"What?" she asked as she turned around and started walking backwards.

"Want a drink?" I asked, lifting the bag of drinks I was carrying.

"Maybe later," she said.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

She suddenly stopped and took a deep breath. "Fine," she mumbled.

"Mango juice, orange juice, 4 seasons, coke, root beer or water?" I asked.

"Water."

"Here," I said as I walked towards her and gave her a bottled water. I chose root beer this time. We had our eyes ln each other as we drank our preferred drinks. She gets to finish first. She dropped the bottle of water into the bag I was holding and went into a run again without saying anything.

It took me some time to finish my drink but I didn't mind. I was confident I could keep up. As soon as I was finished with my drink, I went after her again. I caught up to her this time. I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back to me. "Gotcha!"

She shrieked and then started laughing. I wrapped my arms around her waist tighter and laughed with her. She suddenly turned around with my arms still around her. She looked up at me with a bright smile. "You caught me!" she beamed, laughing. "I thought you were. . ." her voice trailed. I think she just realized that I basically have my arms around her while she had her palms resting on my chest.

I could stare at her like this for. . .an infinite amount of time and I'll probably wob't get tired doing so. There's something - I suddenly lost my train of thoughts when I felt something weird happened. I can't tell if it's just in my head or if it really happened. I'm not sure if she felt it too because she was just staring up at me with wide eyes.

But that couldn't be. It's not possible, right? There's just no way I felt our hearts changed beat and went in tune with each other. That was just impossible.

It's probably just in my head, right?

Right?

"Jiyong? Sandara?"

Dara gasped and pushed me back. She took a few steps away from me before turning to face her mother.

"Mom!" Dara breathed. "What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you at the gate and I thought I heard you laughing. . ." she explained, her eyes going back and forth between me and Dara.

"I'm all good from here," Dara squeaked as she turned back to face me. She cleared . "You can go home now."

"It's late," Dara's mother said. "You might as well just sleep over."

Dara turned around to face her mother so fast I was surprised she didn't get dizzy. "Mom!" she exclaimed.

"It's already late, Sandara."

"He can take of himself, right Ji?"

"Did you just call me Ji?" I asked, grinning. She widened her eyes at me and gestured her head slightly towards the direction of her mother. I grinned wider. "I'm actually a bit tired so I think I'll take the offer."

"You can't!" Dara protested.

"Why not?" Hanri asked.

"Yeah, why not?" I seconded.

"We don't have extra rooms. We also don't have spare blankets and pillows."

"He can just sleep with you in your room," Hanri said.

"Mom!"

"I'm just kidding," she said, chuckling. "Is it okay if you sleep in the sofa, Jiyong?"

"Fine with me."

"It's settled then," Hanri cheered. "Let's all go in, it's getting cold."

Hanri placed her arm around Dara as the latter went to her. I silently followed them. I didn't notice we were near Dara's house already until Hanri showed up.

Hanri suddenly stopped and turned to me. "I just remembered I need to call your mother. Can you give me her number?"

"There's really no need," I informed her. "I'll send her a message."

"I insist," she said.

With a shrug, I recited Yeri's number to her. She started walking again as she called my mother, leaving me and Dara to ourselves.

"What do you think are you doing?" she whispered.

"What?"

"Tell her you prefer to sleep in your own bed and that you'll just go home."

"Why would I do that?"

"Just because."

"Why are you so against me sleeping at your place? You slept in mine."

"It doesn't feel right."

Why would you feel that way?" I asked. "It's pretty normal for friends to have sleepovers."

"We're not normal," she grumbled.

I smirked. "You're right, our relationship's not normal."

"We don't have a relationship."

"I think you just don't want to be exposed."

"Exposed to what?" she asked.

"That they'll find out how you got the hots for me. I mean, you did end up all over me when you had a sleepover to my place before. I won't surprise if it's going to happen again this time."

"There's no sense talking to you," she harrumphed and marched off.

I followed her with a chuckle. "It feels like we're playing house, don't you think? You're my wifey, I'm your hubby."

"Stop!" she hissed, making me laugh lightly. She really is so fun to tease.

"Yeri said it's better for you to stay over for the night," Hanri said. Well, I not really surprised. I bet Yeri insisted I stay over for the night. "By the way, did you eat already?"

"We haven't had dinner yet," Dara said.

"I'll go reheat the beef casserole we have. Go set up the table, Dee."

I wasn't sure what to do so I followed Dara around. I offered help but she just threw a glare at me. "You really need.to stop doing that," I told her.

"Stop doing what?"

"Thst glaring thing," I replied. "It's not scaring me off. It's making me want to cuddle you."

She stepped on my foot and looked around. "Will you tone it down and can you please behave?"

"What'll be my reward if I do behave?"

"I didn't we have a guest," a new voice came in before Dara could answer. "You're Jiyong right?"

"Yes, I am."

"Minyu," she introduced herself. "Are you sleeping over?"

"Unfortunately," Dara mumbled. "Can you believe Mom's being nonchalant about this? She actually invited him to sleepover!"

Minyu gave me a knowing look and smiled. "What's so wrong with having him sleepover?" she asked Dara.

"Am I the only one who feels like there's something not right about this?"

"Yeah," Minyu and I chorused.

"Wow, are you actually teaming up against me?"

"Stop fussing, Sandara."

"Stop calling me by my full name, Mom."

"You have a pretty name Dara," I casually said and took a sniff. "Wow, that smells good - I meant the beef casserole, stop glaring at me."

Dinner went pretty well. It was filled with stories of Dara being cute when she was a child. Dara kept on asking her mother to stop as she found them embarrassing, not cute.

"Our dryer machine's broken," Minyu silently told me while Dara and her mother were arguing about something.

Erm, okay? I don't really know what to made of this information. Maybe she's expecting me to fix it. "I don't really know that much about fixing stuff like that."

She chuckled. "We already called someone to have it fixed tomorrow."

I frowned. Okay, I'm seriously lost here. "I don't really. . ."

"Shh," she hushed me and gave me a wink. She then turned to other two and scolded them for arguing with food on the table. My frown deepened and I was tempted to ask what that was all about but I decided to shut my trap.

Hanri and Minyu ordered Dara to wash the dishes. I offered help but they told me to stay put. Hanri brought out a pillow and a blanket for me. "Thanks," I mumbled.

"You should get a shower before you sleep," Minyu said. "Be careful not to let your clothes fall though. You don't really want to sleep here in the living room, do you?"

Oh. Oh.

"Stop sounding like a creep," Hanri scolded, making the other woman laugh. "Well, we're off to bed now."

"Thanks for letting me stay."

"Not a problem," Hanri said. Pause. "Thanks for looking out for Dee."

With that, I was left alone to my thoughts. My mind wandered on that day we were brought to the head teacher's office and the favor Hanri asked me of. I said no. I seriously thought I'll be blacklisted from ever coming here but my rejection seemed to have an opposite effect.

"Do you sleep with the lights on or off?" Dara's voice brought me out of my reverie.

"Can I take a shower first?"

"Oh, okay." She led me to the bathroom and I followed with a smile on my face.

I took my time in taking a shower. By the time I was finished, I took my clothes, except my boxers to the stall and placed them under the spray of water. I chuckled at the sight of how wet my clothes were. I dropped them to the tiled floor and dried myself with a towel. I put my boxers on stepped out of the bathroom with the towel on my shoulders.

I went to Dara's bedroom and knocked. It took a few seconds before the door opened. "Wha-?" she started but her eyed widened as it traveled up and down my body. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me inside her room. "What on earth are you doing? You can't go around the house like. . . like that!"

"Were you asleep already?"

"No," she replied. "I was about to take a shower too. Wait, don't distract me. What do you think are you doing right now?"

"My clothes all wet. I dropped them." I pouted for effect.

She sighed. "I'll dry them up. I was going to take a shower anyways. Wait here and don't come out looking like. . . like that."

I grinned when she closed the door behind her. I placed the towel on a chair nearby and dropped myself to her bed. I can't stop grinning as I wait for her.

Sometime later, she came back with just a towel wrapped around her. My eyes almost popped out at the sight of her. "Don't look!" she warned. "I forgot to bring clothes. Close your eyes! NOW!"

I chuckled and closed my eyes. I listened to her move around the room. I opened an eye and almost swear out loud when I saw her smooth . She had shorts on but she was topless and the towel wrapped around her a while ago was now being used to dry her hair up.

When she was done with her hair, I watched her put a shirt on with her back still facing me. . She's not wearing a bra to sleep? .

I closed my eyes when I saw her turning around. "You can open your eyes now."

And so I did. I kept my eyes on her face, making sure it won't wander somewhere lower.

"So. . ." she started. "Our dryer's broken and yeah. . .I don't think your clothes. . . we usually do our laundry on weekends and I don't know why all my shirts are in the laundry except this one."

"Aww, too bad," I whined. "I don't really want to sleep out there with just my boxers on."

"I still have youe hoodie from last time, you can wear that."

"It's hot."

She stood there, thinking. I waited. She then sighed. "I guess you could sleep here. I'll sleep in outside instead."

"Don't leave me here."

"We can't sleep in the same bed!" she declared.

"Why not?"

"We just can't!"

"What's so wrong with two friends sleeping in the same bed?"

"We just can't. Period."

I stood up. "You can't sleep outside, Dara. In my eyes, you're still a girl. I can't let you sleep in the sofa. I'll just go."

"You can't sleep outside half !" she almost shouted and then covered .

"Want to keep me to yourself?" I teased.

"My parents can't see you like that! It's scandalous! My mom's going to lose her mind."

"I guess we have to compromise then," I said.

"I don't like that look on your face," she said with a grimace.

"We don't really have a choice, do we? We have to share your bed."

"No, no, no. . ."

"You know, the way you're reacting right now is giving me an impression that you're a ert."

"What?"

I shrugged. "You heard me."

"How on earth does that interpret to me being a ert? I'm not a ert!"

"Then there should be no malice or whatsoever for us to share a bed right? It's not like we're going to have or something."

She went red. "What are you even. . . it's. . ."

I crossed my arms, smirking. "I knew it. That's what's running on your mind all time, isn't it? That you might end up all over me again and end up taking my innocence."

"Innocence!?" she spluttered. "You're not innocent!"

"And you're a ert."

"I'm not!"

"Then there should be no problem with us sleeping on the same bed. We're just going to sleep, Dara. Besides, no one's going to know about this anyways."

She stood there with her eyed going back and forth to the bed and me. If she says no this time, I'm not going to force it. I'll sleep on the floor instead.

She took a deep breath. "Fine," she said. "Make sure you stay on your side of the bed."

"I should be the one telling you that."

She threw me a glare. "Lights on or off?"

"Off but with the shade on," I said as I settled on the left side of the bed. Another glare was thrown at my way.

She settled on the right after turning off the lights and leaving the dimmed light on.

I was on my back. I glanced at her and smiled upon seeing her back facing me. Oh well, I guess I won't be able to watch her sleep. Might as well go to sleep as well. With that thought, I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

It felt like just a few minutes when I woke up to Dara's mumblings. I opened my eyes and looked looked to where she was. She was now facing me with her eyes closed. She had a frown on her pretty face and she was mumbling something under her breath that I couldn't understand. I pulled out my phone from under the pillow and can see it was two in the morning - way too early for me to be up.

I was about to close my eyes again when I heard a whimper followed by a loud gasp. I glanced sideways and saw Dara's eyes wide open. "Hey," I greeted. She looked disoriented or something. "Are you okay?"

She closed her eyes briefly and swallowed  first before answering me. "Dream. . ."

"Was it a bad one?" I asked gently.

"I. . . I don't know."

"Was it a naughty one?" I teased. It was meant as a joke but the way her face went red made me move to the side to face her. "It was a naughty one, wasn't it? So that was all the all about."

Her eyes widened. "I did not moan!"

"You did."

"Did not!"

"Did too."

She went quiet for a while. "Did I really moan?" she whispered.

There was something in her tone which somehow made me feel like a jerk. "Sorry, I was just joking."

"I hate you!" she declared and hit my arm with her hand.

"No, you don't."

"I hate you for teasing me like that."

"You were mumbling though and you whimpered once."

"You're lying again."

"It's the truth this time," I told her. She wasn looking anywhere but me. "What was it all about? Want to talk about it?"

She shook her head.

"Are you sure?" I insisted. "Naughty dreams should be shared, not kept to yourself. That's selfishness."

"You accuse me of being a ert but you. . ." she trailed.

"What?"

She glared at me. "Just go to sleep."

"How can I go to sleep now? My curiosity won't let me sleep. So. . . who were you doing naughty stuff with? If it's with Suzy, never mind then. I don't want to hear it."

"Shut up."

I chuckled. "Fine," I said. "Naughty dreams to you, Dara."

"Shut up!" she hissed.

I chuckled again and then closed my eyes. I can feel her eyes on me. I tried to ignore it at first but as seconds ticked by, I couldn't ignore it any longer. "You're staring," I mumbled without opening my eyes. "Can't sleep? Want me to bring your naughty dream to life?" When she didn't react to my joke, I opened my eyes. She was now on her back and staring at the ceiling. "Spill," I said.

She remained quiet for seconds? Minutes? I don't know how long. I thought she wasn't going to talk anymore. "What if. . . what if. . ."

"What if what?" I urged.

"What if I end up attracted to both girls and boys?"

I was about to again when she suddenly moved to her side and faced me, her eyes on me. I don't know how or why but for some reason, I felt like this was important to her. "I don't think your parents would mind," I told her.

"I'm going to lose my friends, won't I? Suzy's going to be disgusted at me, won't she? Everyone's going to judge me."

Yeah, this was important to her. "Come here," I said as I scooted over and pulled her close to me. I lifted her head and placed my arm underneath it while the other went to rub her back. "If your so-called friends leave you because of that, then they don't deserve you. Suzy is Suzy - I already told you how she is and why would you be bothered with what everyone would think of you? We're now in an era where people are more open to this kind of stuff."

She was drawing random patterns on my bare chest. "I. .  I'm. . . nevermind."

"What are you scared of?"

"I don't know," she said. "I'm just. . . confused and I don't know why I'm getting confused and it's very frustrating."

"Is this about the dream?" I asked. She was quiet for a very long time that I thought she fell asleep already.

"The dream made me realise something," she finally answered.

"What was the dream about?" I asked.

"I don't want to share it."

"Come on," I urged. I'm so freaking curious I don't think I could go to sleep  again. "Tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell -."

"Okay, okay. You're so annoying!" she huffed.

"I'm waiting," I said in a singsong voive.

"Gah, give me a minute!" she gritted, making me chuckle. I kissed the top of her head, as if on instinct.

"You accuse me of being a ert but you keep on finding ways to kiss me somehow. You're the real ert here."

"Don't change the subject, Dara. I'm still waiting for you to spill about your dream."

She took a deep breath. "We were kissing."

I went still. "We?"

"Yes," she said in a small voice. "And I liked it."

I leaned back a little to try to get a look at het face to see if she's serious or she was just joking but she buried her facr further into my chest. "Dara. . ."

"The dream made me realise that I don't find the kisses and hugs as disgusting as I should find them. I should be grossed out since you know, you're a boy. I don't know if it's just because I haven't experienced them before and I'm just curious or if I'm attracted to both girls and boys."

Her confession left me speechless. What am I supposed to say to that?

"Are you. . . going to. . . leave, I mean, are you going to stop talking to me now because of this?"

"I like you, Dara. Hell, I think I care for you as well. However, I don't think how I feel right now is something more than friendship and amusement. Yes, I do find you attractive as well. I can't seem to stop myself from touching you or kissing you. But I can't offer you something more than friendship." She was honest with me. I owe her honesty as well.

"I'm not asking for us to be in a romantic relationship, Jiyong. Get over yourself. I'm pretty sure I like Suzy. I'm just. . . I just want you to know about what I feel with all these kisses and hugs and touches and all that and it's confusing me. I don't understand ehy I like them, I'm not even attracted to you."

I laughed. "Bull."

"I certain of my feelings for Suzy."

"Okay, let's agree that we are in lust with each other." I laughed.

"That sounds awful!" she complained. "And I'm not in lust with you! I'm not even attracted to you!"

"But you like my kisses," I . "Want me to kiss you now?"

"No!" she growled.

"You just said you like my kisses."

"That doesn't mean you can kiss me anytime you want," she grumbled.

I leaned back and tilted her head up. Without a word, my head swoop down for a kiss. , I'm a hypocrite. No wonder she's getting confused. But I just can't stop myself.

I pulled her closer as I deepened the kiss. I traced her lower lip with my tongue, earning me a soft whimper. Remembering how she had nothing on under her shirt, I slipped my hand through it and gently squeezed one mound. She gasped and my tongue slipped through .

Her hand, which was resting on my bare chest, travelled up to the back of my head. Her tiny fists balled, pulling my hair. I groaned and moved, my upper body now on top of hers. She's so soft, so ing soft.

But I need to stop. I have to stop. This all ed up. I just told her I can't offer more than friendship but here I am, taking advantage of her confusion, of her curiosity, of her inexperience, of her innocence.

, I'm a jerk.

With all the strength I could muster, I pulled away. "Why'd you stop?" she asked.

She's not making this easy for me. "We have to stop or I won't be able to stop at all," I said, my head lowering again for another kiss. It was just a brief one. I then kissed her cheek up to her earlobe, nipping a little. I really need to stop.

With a sigh, I pulled away and settled back to my place. I pulled my hand away from her shirt and wrapped an arm around her. "Go to sleep," I instructed kissed her forehead. , I seriously need to stop.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. I followed her to dreamland much, much later.

Persisent knocks on the door woke me - us up. Dara's eyes went wide when she saw my face. "Why on earth are we cuddling?" shr asked, scandalized. She jerked away from me and kicked me off the bed.

"Aww!" I whined.

She sat up. "I had the weirdest dream!" she said. " It felt so real!"

"You already -."

"I dreamt of telling you I may be attracted to boys as well and that I liked kissing you. Eeww, disgusting!" Shr shivered.

What the ?

"And then," she went on but stopped. "Oh, someone's knocking on the door. Must be Minyu."

She jumped off the bed and flew to the door. It was indeed Minyu. "Someone's looking for you," she said. There was something in her expression that I can't quite understand.

"This early?" Dara asked.

"It's already 11 in the morning, Dee."

"ELEVEN?!" Dara shrieked. "Wow, I can't believe I slept in. Must be because of the dream. I had the weirdest dream ever - oh wait, who's looking for me?"

Minyu was silent for a while, her eyes going to my direction then back to Dara. "Kim Soo Hyun," she finally said.

From where I am, I could see how Dara's face brightened so ing much it was blinding. "Hyunnie's here?!" she exclaimed excitedly and sped out the door.

Hyunnie? Who the is Hyunnie or Kim Soo Hyun?