; Moonlight

     “Open your mouth, Minseokkie.” Jia Li demanded with a small smile, bringing up a piece of fresh cold strawberry from the transparent plastic box and dips it inside the bowl of whipped cream closer to her best friend Minseok’s lips. Looking at the smiling female sitting next to him, Minseok releases a light chuckle before opening his mouth, chewing and savoring the sweet taste of the strawberry and whipped cream collaborating together. Jia Li’s beautiful signature smile makes its appearance again as she picks up her own strawberry with whipped cream and happily pops it inside . She emits a breath of pleasure, puffing her cheeks up a bit. 

        “This is really delicious.” Minseok compliments after having done his chewing state, although it was a little bit sour at first but he managed to get used to it. Glancing at the other, Jia Li places a hand on his shoulder before plastering her gummy smile again, staring at his adorable best friend’s face. Single eyelids, sharp nose, pearl-like eyes, thick eyebrows, and thin lips, everything was just so charming about her best friend. Both of them have been best friends ever since they were in their mother’s wombs – which is considered a bit weird – but considering that their parents were literally the best of friends ever, it wasn’t weird at all. And ever since then, they have always been together and protected each other from the dangerous world around them as friends that is, nothing more. 

    “Hey, you okay? You’ve been staring at me for like..I don’t know, 5 minutes? Not that I counted.” Minseok shrugs cutely, letting out another soft chuckle. Jia Li blinks, leaning her head on Minseok’s shoulder. Minseok tilts his head on the side, a smile tugging on his lips as he stares at his beautiful best friend. He couldn’t help but find the girl next to him irresistible with her straight dazzling hair, thin pink lips, almond-like eyes, bulbous nose, and soft, milky-white skin. Ever since they were children, Minseok had always been drawn to Jia Li and developing certain inexplicable feelings for her, even if they were still children and didn’t know anything about love. However, Jia Li seems to be always oblivious and would always chatter about how cute ‘that boy, this boy, those boys’ are to Minseok, specifically. And with that, Minseok sometimes feels he’s just useless to her, but he knows that he should never give up trying, even if it takes him a million decades to achieve. 

       “Minseokkie, do you remember the time when we were like this?” Jia Li questions softly, her eyes focusing on the spotless tiled floor. She wasn’t surprised about how the floors were completely clean since she had always known that Minseok was one of those neat-freaks. Letting out a sigh, Minseok replies, “I do. It was a beautiful evening and we were sitting down on the rooftop and you were leaning your head on my shoulder as we look up at the twinkling stars up in the dark moonlight sky. It was just amazing.” Minseok explains with a sweet smile, resulting Jia Li to send him a nod in response, her lips forming into a pout a bit. “It was indeed amazing.” She adds, clasping her hands together and settling them on her lap. 

    “Beautiful moments like these are supposed to be cherished, right?” Minseok asks, a serene expression on his face. “That’s true. Moments like these should be cherished and I’ll forever cherish sweet moments like these with us. Best friends forever, right?” Jia Li looks at Minseok with an eye smile as Minseok’s designated beam faltered and immediately faded, exchanging it into an uneasy one at the sound of ‘best friends.’ “Best friends, r-right.” Minseok reluctantly stammers, trying to plaster a forceful smile to his best friend, which didn’t do much. Leaping up from the seat and smiling cheerfully, “You are forever my best friend, Minseokkie~ My one and only best friend.” She walks behind the couch, wrapping her arms loosely on Minseok’s neck, not forgetting to ruffle his neck with a slight poke on his cheeks. Minseok, on the other hand, still felt uneasy, uncomfortable, and sad at the same time. 

        “R-right..” The male stutters again, a small pout on his face. Then suddenly, the sound of a car honking outside interrupts the whole sweet and and awkward moment for Minseok. Picking up her purse, Jia Li informs, “Oh, that’s my boyfriend outside. I gotta go, Minseokkie. See you later.” She then waves goodbye to Minseok with a slight apologetic beam, reaching for the doorknob. Minseok nods hesitantly, desperately wishing his best friend wouldn’t leave right now yet he was also somewhat infuriated by her best friend’s boyfriend for ruining such moment and having to pick her up right now. Frankly speaking, he never liked Jia Li’s boyfriend. Too arrogant, too strict, too careless, and most importantly he has a very bad temper. Minseok had always wondered how his best friend found an interest on such man. 

   “Yeah, bye..” Minseok says slowly as he receives another smile from Jia Li before she opens the door, stepping outside, and closing the door shut gently. A sigh of disappointment escapes from Minseok’s lips as he repositions himself and lays down on the couch. Using both his arms as a metaphorical pillow, another sigh exits out from his lips. Whenever Jia Li would hang out with his boyfriend, he always got jealous. He was envious about how her boyfriend can hug her, kiss her, touch her, hear her soothing laughter, see her beautiful smile, and most importantly, just be with her. Of course, Minseok can do such things to her except the intimate ones – not that he wanted to – but he was still envious about how the man can love her and be her lover while here he was, loving her for a long amount of time, yet he was still considered just her best friend. 

           “Ah..best friend, best friend. Why do I have to be the third wheel one? Why must life be so complicated? Ugh..I’m always here yet she’s getting so far away from me..Love..ugh..” Minseok lets out an exasperated groan, running a hand through his head in frustration. Grabbing a pillow beside him, he lowers his head and buries his head on the soft pillow tightly. Abruptly halting his inexplicable state, there was a loud knock on the door, causing him to arch an eyebrow. Attempting to stand up, his tracks were immediately halted by the door slamming open and revealing a blonde haired boy with an adorable face in the name of Luhan, Jia Li’s older brother. 

     Luhan jumped up with an overly enthusiastic smile on his face, looking at a startled Minseok with a judgmental look. “Baozi!!” He screamed – maybe in a girly way –, plopping down on the couch next to Minseok. “I told you to not call me that anymore. My cheeks are not that chubby. Come on.” Minseok rolls his eyes, picking up a strawberry and popping it inside his mouth. Luhan grins at him before picking a strawberry and tossing it inside his mouth as well. “Copycat.” Minseok spits out, scrunching up his nose. Luhan puffs out his cheeks, playfully leaning his head on Minseok’s shoulder. “It’s just too tempting to copy things you do.” 

       “Luhan, if you’re here for your sister, she already got picked up by her..boyfriend.” For some reason, Minseok felt quite uncomfortable at him mentioning the word ‘boyfriend.’ In a way, he still feels hurt and disappointed by how everything about his unrequited love was too complicated. Luhan glances at the older male, eyes blinking frequently due to habit. “Oh, I see. I actually wasn’t here for my sister. I just want to hang out with you.” Luhan responds, noticing the sadness in the older latter’s face. Amused, Minseok shifts his head to look at the younger. 

    “That’s new. The Luhan I knew doesn’t usually come here for no reason, picking up Jia Li is the exception. Or if you’re here for the banana split ice cream that you finished last week, as I’ve said you’ve finished already it so it’s not here,” Minseok explains sarcastically, staring intently at an excited looking Luhan with brown orbs enlightening up considerably. Pointing at Luhan with his index finger and a warning look on his face, he adds, “And no, I didn’t buy any new one. Because, I know somebody is going to hog it all up.”

         Playfully rolling his eyes and huffing out a breath, Luhan says, “Actually Minseok, I’m not here for anything like those. I’m here to have a little discussion with you.” Amused again, Minseok looks at Luhan with an incredulous gaze, raising an eyebrow. 

     “Luhan, are you okay? Do you have a fever or something? I’ll take you to the doctor. Lets go.” Minseok enumerates, grabbing Luhan’s wrist and attempts to pull him out from the couch, but unfortunately, the younger one was too stubborn. “Minseok-hyung, sit down.” Luhan demands with a bright smile on his face, resulting the older latter to instantly take a seat on the couch, a little afraid by Luhan’s sudden seriousness. And with that, Luhan releases a deep breath, shifting his attention to a confused Minseok. 

            “Minseok-hyung, are you seriously okay with my sister having a boyfriend? I mean, you are her best friend after all..Doesn’t it somehow affect you a little bit?” Luhan questions slowly, a warm expression plastering on his face. Minseok blinks a few times, surprised by Luhan’s unexpected question. Of course, it affected him. Not only is their time alone lacking much, having a crush on her was even more heart-wrenching when you know there was no way they could ever get together. Taking another deep breath, Minseok looks at Luhan with a serious expression. 

     “To be honest, it affects me a lot. I mean..I just feel like I can’t hang out with her anymore that much. But, I shouldn’t be complaining because her boyfriend has the right to have her all by himself. But, it really does affect me a lot. She’s my best friend. We’ve known each other for so long..and it’s just..I don’t know..” Minseok sighs, his expression filled with pain.

   Placing a hand on Minseok on the older’s shoulder, Luhan decides to asks, “Are you sure it’s just about you and her being best friend? Or..is it something else? Probably something..more?” Minseok sees Luhan smiling in the corner of his eyes as he pursed his lips. He wasn’t sure whether Luhan was trustworthy enough to hear his hidden feelings towards his sister and was also trustworthy enough to not tell her, but in the end, he decides that maybe it was a good thing to pour all of his hidden emotions to somebody who’s actually willing to listen, or he hopes so. 

 “Honestly Luhan, it’s not all because she’s my best friend. I..I really like her. I’ve been having a huge crush on her ever since..I can’t even remember when. But, I try to build up the courage to confess but nothing seems to happen the way I planned or my courage starts to disintergrate. Then..when I try to give some signs that I like her..she’s too oblivious to it. I don’t..I don’t understand. She pays attention to other boys..but she just refers to me as her best friend. And now..she got a boyfriend..She’s even more oblivious.” 

    Biting his bottom lip out a bit, Luhan’s lips forms into a warm beam as he looks at Minseok. “Hyung, my sister is like that. She’s oblivious to things that are so obvious. That’s just her specialty. The thing you need to do is show her and tell her right in front of her face that you like her. It’s that easy.” 

          “Luhan, she already has a boyfriend. It’s too late. Too late to change anything. My feelings are just..waste. But, they’ll always be there.” Minseok lowers his head down, shaking his head in disagreement in the process. Close to crying himself (because he is an emotional person who wants to be an actor someday), Luhan throws his arms on Minseok’s side, pulling him into a warm brotherly embrace. “Minseok-hyung, everything will be alright. I can assure you. Nothing is too late. And to be honest, I think you’re the one that should end up with my sister.” A little surprised by the last statement, Minseok shifted his head once again to look at Luhan with a skeptical facial expression. 

“What about her boyfriend?” Minseok questions, a brow arched up in curiousness. 

“That boyfriend of hers is one conceited man. He’s a bit of an egomaniac, you know. But, my sister seems to be so drawn to him that I’m supposed to approve of him, in which I forcefully sort of did. But hyung, you’re the one for my sister. She needs to know your feelings. You can’t hide it forever.” 

   Emitting a deep breath, Minseok decides to give up from disagreeing to the somewhat intelligent man next to him. “Alright, I’ll tell her,” Minseok throws his hands up in a defeated manner, glancing at an utterly enthusiastic Luhan with glimmering eyes. Sending the younger latter a light scowl, he quickly adds, “But, if anything happens, you’re all to blame.” 

       Interrupting their little brotherly moment, the door bursts open, revealing a pale Jia Li with a numb face, along with tears rolling down her cheeks. Startled, Minseok immediately runs up to her and envelops the frail girl into a cordial embrace. Jia Li continues to sob, feeling a bit calm at Minseok’s embrace. 

“Jia Li, my beautiful sister, what happened?” Luhan questions, a curious expression on his visage. 

“My..my..my boyfriend cheated on me.” She sobs sadly, nuzzling on the crook of Minseok’s neck. A tear then rolls down her cheeks, again. Letting go of her gently, Minseok’s eyes widens and mouth forming into an ‘O’ shape in surprise. He doesn’t understand why such creature would do such thing to a lovely girl. It was just too confusing, but a part of him honestly wanted to do a happy victory dance. 

     “Why would he do such thing?” Minseok gapes, his face developing into an irritated one at the thought of Jia Li being dumped by her own boyfriend whom she loved with all her might. A sigh escaping on her lips, Jia Li begins, “I saw him making out with another girl when I just came out of the bathroom from the mall. Yes, she was prettier and had a much more elegant demeanor than me, but..I loved him and I didn’t expect him to do such thing to me..Minseokkie, I’m just hurt..” Another tear rolls down her cheeks, lowering her head down on the floor. 

    “Jia Li, you’re the prettiest girl out there in the world. That boyfriend of yours doesn’t know what he’s missing. It’s his lost because you are the most perfect girl out there. And, there’s another man out there that will love you forever and make you feel like you’re a princess,” A smile creeps up on Minseok’s lips at his little speech, knowing that the man he was talking about is him. “And you know..maybe that man is just somewhere near you..but you’re just too oblivious to notice it..” He adds, a genial sigh emits from his lips. 

“He’s talking about him.” Luhan interrupts in a soft tone, which was unfortunately a little too loud that both a confused Jia Li and a shocked Minseok had heard. 

       Shifting her perplexed expression towards the cute boy in front of her, she inquires curiously, “Minseok, what is he talking about?” Scratching the back of his head, Minseok lets out a breath, his expression more nervous than ever But, the situation right now was now or never. “It’s true. I really do like you. I’ve been admiring you for a couple of years now, but I never had the courage or the opportunity, if you must say, to confess to you my feelings. But right now, it’s now or never. I think it’s an unrequited love, but I just want you to know that my feelings will never really perish. You’re the only girl I want, but I can’t have you.” Minseok confesses, ignoring Luhan’s “not yet” interruption in the background, which also earns Luhan a glare from Minseok himself.  

    Then, Jia Li comes upon a realization. “Minseok..I-I just realized something. When I’m sad, you’re always there next to me and listening to my constant blabbering of my problems. When I see a cute or attractive boy, I always inform you with very detailed descriptions and you have the tendency to just listen. When I’m not feeling that motivated, you’re always the bubbly one who tries everything to make me feel happy, despite your somewhat shy metaphorical shell and your sophisticated personality. You’re..You’re always there for me, even in the most useless times. But yet, I never noticed that until now..” 

        Surprised by the abrupt speech, Minseok finds himself blinking and nodding simultaneously. However, at the corner of his eye, he spots Luhan smiling happily and giving him a gesture to ask her out already. Minseok rolls his eyes in a playful manner, shifting his head back to Jia Li. “So..are you willing to open your heart again for me, even if it just got broken? I want to be the only guy to make you feel like a princess and I promise I will never break your heart.” Minseok says thoughtfully, once again ignoring Luhan’s little muttering of “Oh, you better not” in the background. 

     “And I know you won’t. I can’t believe that I never realized how important you are to me, more than just a friend. Behind those dark shadows I faced, there was a light. And that light was you.” Without hesitating, Jia Li immediately pulls the adorable yet handsome man in front of her into an affectionate yet so meaningful kiss. The sweet sparks and fireworks floating around wildly at the awaiting interaction. Every moment that was painful had all gone away. The kiss made Jia Li feel that she was about to start a new beginning with Minseok, her one and only that she had never noticed before except him being her best friend. 

           “So, I’m guessing your heart is opened up for me again?” Minseok smiles rather cutely, his pearl-like orbs enlightening up in joy. Rolling her eyes in a playful manner, Jia Li nods and replies, “Of course. I want to feel like a princess, anyways.” She then releases a light chuckle as Minseok attacks her soft cheeks with millions of kisses. A giggle escapes from her lips, attempting to push Minseok away from her but unfortunately, the boy was too strong. 

       “Hey, I’m still here!” Luhan shouted playfully rather loudly, a small gallon of his favorite banana split ice cream on his hand. Minseok’s eyes widens in amusement at how Minseok managed to get a gallon of that flavored ice cream when he basically informed earlier that he didn’t have any of that anymore. To his surprise, Luhan’s lips forms into a gummy smile, scooping a scoop of ice cream into his mouth while letting out a breath of sweet pleasure from his tastebuds afterwards. 

    Minseok shakes his head defeatedly, not understand how Luhan inherited so many different personalities. This boy was just too amusing. 

 Hello! First, I want to apologize for updating your request..like 5 days later? I had no inspiration to write and I basically didn’t have the motivation to do things. I’m really sorry again, but I hope this one-shot somehow fulfilled that apology well. I hope it portrayed Moonlight pretty accurately, although I never really portray songs in an accurate manner. Feel free to comment below your thoughts of this one-shot! Thank you for requesting~ And I’m really sorry for updating it really late. I procrastinated a few times - Anyways, thank you! :D I hope you liked it!