sweet victory ii
the unknownIt was dark outside and the air was crisp like I had imagined now that winter was approaching.
Me and Jackson decided to take a different route, and climb up the steps to see the cities night time view.
The park was empty now that it was late at night, but in the distance we could see the city lights twinkling. It looked like a different world compared to the serenity of the natural park.
"How is this possible?" I breathed.
Jackson looked at me as we sat on a bench, "What?"
"How did this park manage to get even more beautiful than the last time we came?"
He looked at me and laughed. "It's the dark that makes it like this. You can see Seoul for what it is in the dark."
We stayed silent for a while. It was cold, dark and quiet but it was also peaceful and I was with someone I liked being around.
"You put that salt into Daiyu and Mark's cookies didn't you?" I asked suddenly.
Jackson turned to me, and wore a guilty expression on his face.
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to spend some more time with you," he admitted.
I looked down at my hands and felt my cheeks heat up abruptly.
"I like spending time with you," he went on, "you're cool and interesting and weird."
"You can be pretty weird too. Especially when you act shy," I shot back.
Jackson looked at me and nodded, admitting silently to what I had just said.
"But I feel like there's something holding us back, from getting closer," he said quietly.
"I agree," I whispered.
I looked out towards the distance, blurring my vision so that the Seoul skyline was nothing more than a collection of twinkling dots.
"Did you get my text?" Jackson asked.
"No," I lied, still looking away from him.
Jackson looked at me as if he knew I was lying. He probably did, I was a terrible liar.
"Look at me, Maya," he said.
I turned my body to face him in the bench, although my eyes were still away from his.
"No, look at me."
This time I looked at him. I stared at his pink lips for a long moment. They moved silently as if he was planning what to say next.
"I've said this before, but it looks like I'll have to say it again. I'm good with words, but when it comes to you - I'm really not. So..." Jackson cut off his own sentence by leaning in to kiss me.
My first reaction was to move away. I didn't want this, did I? Perhaps I did.
As my lips met Jackson's I could feel butterflies in the pit of my stomach developing. I had a warm feeling in my heart, although our lips were both cold from being outside. Jackson's lips were soft and sweet, and it seemed as though my insides were turning to mush. Jackson my hair momentarily with his free hand, as the other held on gently to the side of my face.
I had to pull away before the known feeling of Mark my hair came back to me.
We sat breathlessly in silence for a few moments. A guilty feeling washed over me. It hadn't sunk in that I had just kissed Jackson. I didn't know where my feelings came from nor where my heart now lied. The only question that kept replaying in my mind was: what about Mark? The reason I felt more guilty than ever was because I actually wanted Jackson to kiss me.
I wasn't usually one to cry, so when fresh tears sprung in my eyes I made quick work at rubbing my eyes to hide them. Jackson pulled my hand away.
"Is it Mark?" he asked softly.
I let the tears spill down my cheeks, as a cold hand wiped them away.
"He's just going to have to learn that I like you," Jackson explained.
I shook my head, "It's not that. He'll fight with you if he finds out, and I don't want that happening."
"I'm not going to fight with my best friend about this. But you don't belong to Mark. Unless you're..." he said looking at me.
"I'm not going to fight with my best friend about this. But you don't belong to Mark. Unless you're..." he said looking at me.
"No, we're not dating."
"Well then what's the problem?" He asked.
I took Jackson's now freezing cold hands in mine, "Please don't tell him," I pleaded.
He looked at his hands in mine with wide eyes, "Okay."
"Thank you," I said letting go of them.
Jackson's phone bleeped and he took it out to read the message. "It's from Mark," he sighed.
"What does it say?" I asked nervously.
"He asks where you are," Jackson replied.
"Tell him I've gone for a walk and that you went home."
Jackson looked at me disappointedly, "I'm not doing that," he said returning his gaze to his phone screen.
Jackson looked at me disappointedly, "I'm not doing that," he said returning his gaze to his phone screen.
"Please Jackson, just for now please. Let me think about things, and then I'll put Mark straight," I compromised.
"Think about what?" he asked quietly.
"Us. Me and you. I think...I think I like you, but can we wait before we tell everyone?"
Jackson smiled gently at me. "If that's what you think then I'm willing to wait."
"Thank you Jackson, I mean it," I said wrapping my arms around him and giving him a warm hug.
At school the next day the entire friendship group were sitting at two tables together. We hadn't all been together since the drama at Jinhee's house.
Thankfully Mark wasn't at home when I returned from the park last night. But he had settled on staring at me throughout the school day.
The only two people that weren't here were Jackson and Jinhee, they were still queuing up for their lunch at the far end of the hall.
I could just make out Jackson talking to Jinhee. My long-haired friend looked upset by the way she said something to Jackson and left him there standing alone. What was all that about?
I pretended I hadn't noticed as he came to our lunch table and sat in between Youngjae and Jessica.
"How was the baking yesterday? Daiyu said you guys had fun," Bambam laughed looking over at me.
I began blushing violently, suddenly getting paranoid. I hadn't told my cousin I went to the park with Jackson, let alone that I kissed him.
"What are you talking about, Bambam?" I asked defensively.
Bambam looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"She said you made cookies," Bambam murmured, "I was only asking."
My body flooded with relief. There was no reason me and Jackson couldn't be friends, but if we were open about it I knew I'd be able to feel Mark's jealousy bubble over any time soon.
Jackson leaned over the table to my cousin, "Uh Daiyu, Jinhee wanted to talk to you."
"About what?" Daiyu asked with wide eyes. They were both talking quietly to each other, but everyone was listening closely.
Jackson shrugged guiltily, "I don't know. She went off towards the science block."
Daiyu nodded and picked up her school bag to go and find our friend.
Jb looked at his girlfriend getting up worriedly.
"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.
My cousin shook her head, "It's better if I go," she said leaving us.
"One of these days I'm going to find a drama free friendship group to be part of," Jr rolled his eyes and Yugyeom hit his arm.
"What? There's drama everyday in this circle of friends," he explained. Bambam nodded in agreement.
I couldn't see Jackson as he was shielded by Jessica who was very tall. So instead I let my gaze drift over to Mark who was sat opposite me. Our eyes met and he took the opportunity to start an open conversation in front of everyone.
He bit on the straw from his drink as his eyes lit up jokingly.
"So Maya, what did you do while me and Daiyu cleaned up all yours and Jackson's mess?" he asked, with a smirk on his face. He seemed incredibly enthusiastic compared to his slightly lacklustre attitude last night.
"I...uh, I went for a walk, in the park, to clear my head," I stuttered.
"Funny, Jackson told me he was doing exactly the same thing."
I sat back in my seat to look at Jackson, "What? That's not true!"
"Mark, I told you I went home, Maya went for a walk in the park," he lied.
I sat back in my seat to look at Jackson, "What? That's not true!"
"Mark, I told you I went home, Maya went for a walk in the park," he lied.
"Oh really?" Mark said with wide eyes, "I must've read the text wrong."
"Yeah...you must have," Jackson muttered, stabbing the beef with his chopsticks.
"Yeah...you must have," Jackson muttered, stabbing the beef with his chopsticks.
Mark leaned back in his chair, still biting at the straw in his mouth and holding eye contact. I don't know what he thought was so funny but I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.
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Hi everyone! Second update this week ^^ What did you think of this part? Both chapters are relatively small so I put them together, as in a part 1 and a part 2. I've left a lot of things open ended, i.e. the Jinhee thing, but all will be revealed later. Thank you for all the comments and subscribers- I love reading your feedback.
Maria xo
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