Primary Song: APINK- Wishlist

Genre: Fluff

Characters: Na Eun/ Male OC (Unnamed till the end)/ APINK (not Chorong or Hayoung)

Sunlight blinded me as I slowly blinked my eyes open, forcing me to squint.

“Hey, you okay?” A male’s voice asked. A hand was placed on my forehead, and I was comforted by the contact.

“Come on, you should wake up now,” that same male’s voice urged me. I whined like a child, and I heard the male chuckle at my childishness.

I felt the bed dip as he climbed on, and he settled next to me, pecking my forehead and wrapping his arms around me. Enjoying our hug, I smiled against his firm chest. I finally allowed my eyes to flutter open to look at the male’s face, and to my disappointment, I was met with the same handsome face as always.

“Hey, you okay?” His eyebrows pinched together as he brushed a strand of my hair away from my face. “You look sad.”

I managed a small smile. “Just tired,” I lied.

He removed his hand from around my waist to place it onto of my hands which were between his face and mine. Our gazes locked together, his dark brown eyes twinkling like always. His lips were curled up in a soft smile. And I fell in love with him all over again.

We didn’t say or do anything; we just laid side by side, facing one another, enraptured by each other’s gazes. Whenever I was with him, I felt safe and protected, as if nobody could harm me as long as he was with me. The sad thing is, he wasn’t actually with me.

“Why don’t you sleep?” He suggested softly, but I shook my head, afraid that if I did, he’d disappear. Unfortunately, my eyelids suddenly began to droop and despite how much I tried to fight the temptation of falling asleep, I entered into a light sleep.

It felt like I didn’t close my eyes even for a second before I heard someone scream, “WAKE UP!”

My eyes shooting open, I bolted up from the bed, alert and awake. “What’s wrong? Is someone hurt?” I urgently asked while whipping my head around to spot the danger. The only thing I spot is an unimpressed Se Eun watching me.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I just screamed to wake you up.”

When I heard that, I groaned and collapsed onto my back. “Yah, I was sleeping so well though,” I yawned.

“Yeah, well too bad. You need to get ready for school. Come on, get up,” my little sister insisted and began to poke my sides.

Ignoring her, I feigned sleep until I heard her huff and threaten, “I’m calling mom.” Before she could shout for our mother, I jumped out of bed and clamped my hand onto .

“I’m up, I’m up. Now get out,” I directed.

Se Eun escaped from my hold and ran out the door with one final, “You have to be ready in ten minutes!”

I began my morning routine, but since my mind wasn’t focused on my tasks, I ended up putting on my skirt twice- I forgot I had it on and took it off before realizing I had to wear it. While I was putting it on for the second time, I shook my head at myself and thought, ‘Son Na Eun, what were you thinking about so intensely?’

A face flashed in my mind, and I immediately understood. I was thinking about my dream guy. Literally. The dream from the night before wasn’t the first time he appeared in my dreams. I used to dream he’d save me from embarrassing situations or come comfort me when I’m upset. I’d be walking alone on a street with my head down and suddenly, I’d look up and see him strolling towards me with the familiar smile, and my mood would lift in an instant.

“Son Na Eun! Come downstairs right now!" My mother's voice interrupted my daydream, and with a jolt, I snapped out of my daze and immediately finished dressing. Before I ran downstairs, I made sure to put on my necklace, one I couldn’t go a day without.

"Sorry mom," I apologized with a soft smile, but she still directed a pointed glare at me.

"Son Na Eun, if you miss your bus again," began my mother in a warning tone, "I'm not driving you to school, do you understand?"

I bowed my head in understanding and apology, and she sighed, "Hurry up and eat your food before it gets cold."

I sat across my sister who shook her head at me, and my only response was childishly sticking my tongue out at her before quickly consuming my food.

Once I finished, I jumped up from my seat, grabbed my backpack, and shouted a quick, "I ate well! I'll be going now!" Before either my sister or my mother could ask why I’m in such a hurry, I was already out the door.

I didn't slow my swift steps until I saw the bus stop, and when I glanced down at my watch and realized I have a few minutes before the bus comes, I allowed myself to take a breather. No longer scurrying, I took leisurely slow steps to enjoy the feeling of the autumn wind blowing past me, tickling my skin.

I looked around while I sat down, and seeing no one, put in earbuds to listen to music. Soft violins waltzed into my ears, and my eyelids were lulled to sleep. But before they shut completely, I caught sight of him.

Jumping up from my seat, I was tempted to run across the street to where he stood, a small smirk adorning his face because he knew exactly how much I wished to be where he was, but I restrained myself with the reminder that I’d be flattened by the rushing cars if I so much as stepped off the sidewalk. So I had to be satisfied with simply seeing him from afar.

My heart caught in my throat when I realized he was making his way towards me. Somehow the road was clear of cars, so after looking both ways quickly, he jogged towards me, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit of fear for him. What if a car were to suddenly come honking from nowhere and crashed into him?

Only when he safely made it to my side did I allow myself to relax, and a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding was let out.

“Hey,” was his simple greeting with a blinding smile.

“Hi,” I replied, a small smile slowly stretching on my lips. We sat down on the bench and didn’t say anything else, but I’m fine with the silence as long as I’m with him. Even in my head I realized how cheesy it sounds, but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking those kinds of thoughts.

Shyly and slowly, I turned my head to glance at him, maybe to even admire his side profile, but I was met with the same brown orbs I was lost in earlier in the morning. Gasping, I felt myself blush under his soft gaze and kind smile. I forced myself to not look away although I doubted I’d be able to anyways.

For some reason, I always felt so relaxed around him. He somehow alleviated all my sadness whenever I was down. He’d always be able to make me smile, no matter the situation. But that was quite sad considering I hardly knew him. He only appeared-

The cringe worthy sound of the bus screeching to a stop also brought my dreams to a stop as well. My eyes flew open and were greeted with the sight of passengers boarding and exiting the bus that had arrived to the stop. Sighing by how I was deceived by yet another day dream, I trudged to the waiting bus and boarded to go on my way to the dreadful prison that disguised itself as school.

I personally found school as a waste of my time. Even though I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to be when I grew up, I knew I wasn’t going into the science and math fields, two subjects my school- no, the entire nation- excelled in. If, let’s say, I were to become an idol, exactly how or why I’d utilize math or science? Nobody I asked seemed to have the answer.

I made sure to not daydream on the bus, a terrible habit of mine. If I did, I would most definitely miss my stop. As usual. Although it was difficult to keep my mind from wandering, my perseverance had a reward: I got off at the right stop. The rest of the walk to school was a different matter.

Even though I got off the bus alone, halfway through the journey, I sensed a person strolling next to me. The familiar sensation of my heart beating quickly arose within my chest. I didn’t need to turn my head to know who was walking alongside me.

‘No, this isn’t right,’ I thought to myself and violently shook my head. I needed to stop thinking about him. He was only a figment of my imagination; he wasn’t real. After repeating this mantra to myself multiple times, I looked around to make sure he was gone, and to my relief, he was.

But somewhere, in the back of my head, a small voice whispered about how the lack of his presence meant a feeling of loneliness. A feeling that washed upon and lasted with me as I continued walking to school.

Even at school, he simply wouldn’t leave me alone. No matter how hard I’d try to focus on the teacher and lesson, he’d distract me. Everything seemed to remind me of him.

The couples in the halls made me think why I didn’t have a boyfriend yet. I was in my junior year yet never dated before. Never. I told myself that I was simply waiting for the right boy to appear, but deep inside, I knew that someone was holding me back. My dream guy didn’t allow me to date the countless other guys who confessed to me. And that was all the more reason to get over my ridiculous crush on my dream guy. He- an imaginary person- was the reason why I didn’t date anyone. How ridiculous.

But no matter how many times I told myself to get over him, I still couldn’t. And I was so frustrated with myself for that. Yes, I’ve imagined him whispering sweet words like how I wanted my future boyfriend to. And yes, I’ve dreamed him holding my hands as we walked through a park simply because he liked the contact between our fingers. And yes, I’ve thought of countless other scenarios between the two of us doing couple activities, but I knew it was fruitless. None of the things I fantasized about were going to become true. Because he wasn’t real.  

For some reason, today I was fed up with the constant thoughts of my dream guy, so I was grumpier than usual, not that anyone could really tell by just looking at me. Since I was rather quiet in class and kept to myself, nobody noticed my self brooding. Except my friends.

“Na Eun, you okay?”

I looked up from my unappetizing lunch to see my friends watching me in concern. Blinking twice, I asked, “Yeah, why do you ask?”

Eun Ji exchanged glances with the others before slowly saying, “You seem out of the zone, that’s all.”

“Is there something wrong?” Bo Mi asked, and I quickly waved my hands as if that’d wave away their concerns.

“No, no. I’m okay.” When the others shared skeptical looks, I insisted, “Really.” To my relief, they seemed to believe me. Or at least were nice enough to drop the subject.

Instead, they moved onto a popular topic among teenage girls: boys. “So, unnie, how was your date with that boy? What was his name again? Baek Hyun?” Nam Joo wrinkled her eyebrows as she tried to recall the name of the boy Eun Ji went on a date with.

“Yeah, Baek Hyun,” Eun Ji nodded. She looked a bit contemplative as she continued, “He was nice and funny, but I don’t know. I didn’t really feel too much of a spark. I’d rather have him as my friend rather than boyfriend, you know?”

Nam Joo nodded in understanding. As an afterthought, Eun Ji added, “And he was a bit too loud for my taste.”

Yoo Kyung nearly spit out the milk she was drinking. Everyone shot her a confused look as the girl cleaned up the few droplets that had dripped onto the table. When she looked up, she explained, “I thought it was a bit ironic, that’s all. A guy too loud for Eun Ji? Is that even possible?”

The older girl looked offended, but the laughter of her friends eventually caused her to laugh along as well.

“Isn’t he in college?” asked Nam Joo. When Eun Ji nodded, she continued, “Was he cute?”

Eun Ji had to think about that for a while. “Cuter than the guys here,” she finally said.

“That’s true,” I muttered under my breath, but my friends seemed to have heard it.

“What was that Na Eun?” Bo Mi frowned, not having heard my words clearly.

I shook my head. “Nothing.” I stood up to throw away my still full tray, leaving my friends in a state of confusion.

Even after I threw away my tray, I decided to not return back to my friends even though I knew they’d be confused about why I didn’t. Instead, my feet led me back to my classroom, temporarily empty as most of the students were still eating in the classroom.

Although I dearly loved my friends, I often enjoyed the sound of solitude more. Only when I was alone was I able to hear my own thoughts. I sat down at my desk and rested my head on my hands as I recalled the conversation during lunch.

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