24.

His hand sensibly makes it way down, from my neck to my arm, softly caressing my skin, as his lips moves against mine. Minseok slightly pulls away to rest his forehead against mine. The sounds of our uneven breathing ricochet in the empty café. I gradually count to ten in my head, in attempt to calm myself down. Moments later, my eyes open, taking in the sight of the lower half of his face; his flushed cheeks, reddened lips, and the movement of his lips as he tries to control his shallow breathing. He his lips once more before biting the corner of his bottom lip, which slowly turns into a smile.

"God...," he pauses.

"You don't know...," he laughs, "how long I've been waiting to do that..."

Wait...what?

I pull away from him, causing him to open his eyes, and look up at him in disbelief.

"No, I'm serious."

My head drops and my right hand flies to my cheek as I feel a blush, creeping up my face. The sound of a light chuckle escapes from him and his hand gently lifts my chin. He stares intently in my eyes, causing my breathing to slow down.

"Aya... I like you..."

I...

"I really like you."

I think I just stopped breathing.... BREATHE AYA!

"I know you're shocked right now, but it's true.

I reach into my apron for my notepad and marker, but he stops me.

"Y-you don't have to say anything... I just wanted to let you know that I feel that way about you."

I...

He nervously begins to laugh and pulls completely away, facing the main café area. His right hand flies to his heart.

"Goodness, my heart is beating out of my chest," he mumbles.

Minseok...I...

My hand reaches out, to land on his shoulder, causing him to turn his face towards me. His eyes scan my face for a moment before turning away. His hand grabs the cloth on top of the glass case and he pulls it off to hold it in his hands. While rubbing his thumbs repeatedly on the fabric, he notices his watch. He turns his left wrist over to glance at the time on his watch.

"Oh wow... Umm, let's finish up here. It's getting kind of late," he says, flashing a sad smile.

---

Stepping out of the café, I close the door behind me. Turning around, I slip the front door key into the keyhole and turn it to the right. I slide the key into my bag and turn to Minseok, who is briefly looking down at his cell phone. Feeling my gaze upon his face, he quickly looks up at me and swiftly places his phone into his pants back pocket.

"You're done? Let me walk you back," Minseok suggests.

I shake my head and wave my hands, signaling to him that it was completely fine and that he did not have to walk me back.

"No, I insist," he says, starting to walk in the direction of my apartment. Noticing that I'm not following him, he stops and looks over his shoulder to see me standing still. A sigh escapes his lips.

"Aya..."

I peek down at my feet before walking over to where he is standing.

"Lead the way," Minseok says, following my footsteps.

As we walk to my apartment, silence and a feeling of awkwardness fills the air.

Should I say something?

I swiftly take a glimpse of his face, hoping he wouldn't catch me looking. He's looking straight ahead, unfazed. I mimic his actions, looking ahead at the neighborhood sidewalks.

It's never this quiet between us. Well only if I'm writing something... but this is different.

My mind floats to the main event that happened earlier: the kiss.

Minseok...and I... kissed....

KISSED...

...my first kiss...

OH GOODNESS, WAS I BAD?

Oh gosh, I was bad... That's what he's thinking about... How to break it to me that I'm a bad kisser....

My hands flies to my face to cover it.

WAIT! If I was, he would've mentioned it?... RIGHT? R I G H T???

"Aya... Aya?"

My hands drop and my head snaps to the direction of Minseok's voice. I raise an eyebrow.

"Are you okay? I've been saying your name for a little while."

I shake my head and smile.

"You sure?" He steps closer to me and I nod in reply.

"Okay," he pauses, "Well I've done my duty; we're here," he finishes, while looking over at my apartment building.

"Umm... I guess I'll go now. Good night Aya," he whispers, lingering for a moment before turning to walk away.

I watch his disappearing figure before turning to walk into my apartment building. I tiptoe through, carefully trying not to wake the watchman, who is nodding off behind the desk. Heading straight up one flight of stairs and down a long corridor, I stop in front of my apartment door. I enter my security code on the door handle and pause for a brief moment, waiting for the lock to disable and the door to beep. I walk in and close the door. I close my eyes and lean back against the door, releasing a deep breath. The sounds of tiny patters and small bell jingle become louder as I hear Alii make her way closer to me. I open my eyes to Alii peering at me, with a small ball of yarn in .

"Alii...Minseok and I kissed." The yarn drops from and she attentively sits back on her hind legs.

"And...he likes me...," I softly mutter.

...And I think I like him...

Author's Note:

Soooooooo my backspace button on my laptop broke off.. that's cool... lol