Hanbin ran a hand through his hair, sighing heavily. This new rap he was writing didn't make sense at all. He was never good at the 'love' composing but his friends had told him to try it out. It was hard enough getting through the first few lines but after a while, he was as good as stuck. It confused him actually and he was quickly getting irritated. He was always quick on his feet and was able to write anything about anything literally but tonight, he was immovable.

 "You're still working on that?" Jinhwan came up from behind him. A thin towel was wrapped around his waist and torso dripping with water.

 Hanbin nodded, his pen tapping roughly against the paper.

 "I'm hitting the gym but good luck." Jinhwan stepped out of the room as hushed as he came in.

 Hanbin let out a breath; he was so frustrated and upset. Everything wasn't going the way he had planned and he just thought it wasn't fair. Maybe he could ask Jinhwan for help, he was older and probably experienced love before.

 "Wait Jinhwan hyung!" He called, getting up and running after his friend who had just left.

 "Whoa," Hanbin breathed, almost bumping into someone in front of him, and it wasn't Jinhwan.

 His friend, or more like enemy, was standing right ahead of him. Aerim was dressed in a sweater and a pair of jeans. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, a small smirk playing along her lips.

 "What are you doing here?" Hanbin finally spoke after recollecting himself. She nearly scared him to death.

 "Jinhwan told me to help you out, you know, since you at writing," She laughed, walking past him and into his room.

 He and Aerim were considered friends ever since middle school but eventually, competition came between them and they couldn't stand next to each other without arguing about something. More and more did Hanbin explain to her that they weren't anything near friends and Aerim had no problem agreeing with that either.

 It was just the small, blossoming crush she had on him that made it difficult to bear. Sure she and he never got along but she couldn't deny that when puberty hit him, it hit him well. He was more masculine, independent and firm but even so, he always managed to play around with her and whenever he saw her. She did the same.  

“Any other day I would disagree,” Hanbin sighed, following her into the room.

He placed himself back in his desk chair and spun it around to face her. She was sitting on his bed, her legs crossed and eyes glued to the papers tossed all over his desk. This wasn’t usually Hanbin and she noticed that something about the way he held himself just seemed gloomy and dull.

“Wow, you must really be stuck eh?” She asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

She watched the way he groaned and rubbed his hands together in anger. It was attractive to say the least but she held a straight face. A part of her wanted to massage his shoulders or lighten his mood but she knew that would be breaking that barrier between them. That barrier she hated oh-so-much.

“I just don’t know what to do with this,” He replied, turning around and picking up the pen again.

Aerim got up slowly, stepping up beside him and leaning towards his desk. Hanbin jumped in surprise, letting out a small noise before stretching out his arms in a blocking action.

“No! You can’t see,” He yelled, pushing her back lightly.

Aerim pouted, peering past his shoulder and tip-toeing beside him.

“Oh come on, what harm can I do?”

He scratched his head, leaning back in his chair and emitting a small grumble. His eyes went from his papers and back to Aerim a few times before stopping his gaze on her. Something about the contradiction in her tone made him feel strange. The way she told him she never cared but her voice would crack and shake at the same time. The weird way she would always say he didn’t mean anything to her yet her constant calls and texts would keep his phone alive. Something about Aerim made her so interesting to Hanbin. Of course he had been nursing a huge crush ever since they first met. He always looked at her and remembered the innocent handshake they made as an introduction to their friendship. Hanbin knew as he got older these feelings grew to something more. He just didn’t know what and so he tried his best to keep up to date with the insults and constant bickering from keeping his insides from feeling any happier when he saw her every day. And he’d always push or shove her whenever he had the chance to distract the heavy beating in his heart every time he laid a finger on her soft skin. She was intoxicating.

“I can’t, you know I don’t show my work early!” He countered finally, stuffing the papers in the drawer beside the desk.

“Hanbin why are you acting like I’m going to steal your work or something?” She laughed, placing herself on the bed again.

This time, she rested herself on it fully letting out a small yawn.

“Aerim, I don’t know...”

“Please, Jinhwan told me to help you not be your audience!” She pleaded, her tone growing more eager by the second.

Hanbin sniffled, reaching for the paper he had just stuffed away. He latched onto it, eyes scanning over the first few lines and where the rest of the page drew a blank.

“Thank you!” Aerim groaned, her smile never leaving her face.

“I only have a little bit done so don’t make fun of it or anything.”

The seriousness on his face startled her a little but nonetheless, she nodded. Hanbin didn’t know why he was feeling so nervous all of a sudden.

“Feel the moment; put your mind in a time when you felt that way.” Aerim suggested, noticing his tense expression.

Hanbin nodded, a suddenly began,

“Over and over again, my momma told me,

‘That Hanbin I once knew, who was he?’

I myself have never found out the answer,

My thoughts run around but I tell them ‘faster, faster’

I want to know who he is too,

This boy, this kid who everyone claimed they once knew,

This Hanbin boy, who was he?

I myself have never found out the answer,

And so I grew, everyday passing, trying to find this Hanbin kid,

It’s kind of like a glass jar but I can’t seem to find the lid,

Then one day that glass was filled with something,

The sweet smell of sugar, your heart starts pounding kind of something,

I didn’t know what it was and neither did Hanbin,

I myself have never found out the answer,

The jar filled with something sweet, so new,

These emotions, feelings I never even knew,

As the jar filled so did something else,

Something else so strong I wanted to keep only to myself,

So beautiful, the scent, taste, touch,

It’s like every moment I laid eyes on her I couldn’t get enough,

And just when I thought these feelings were done,

That same Hanbin kid told me she was the one,

This thing called love, why do people do it for fun?

That moment, that feeling shouldn’t be gone to waste,

A feeling only some people get to taste,

And because you, sitting in front of me today,

Dare I say it, dare I say,

I’ve found Hanbin,

Because inside the jar is you, and Hanbin is me,

I am Hanbin,

And I think I love you”

He finished with a sudden breath, his cheeks red and eyes still on the paper.

“That was amazing; I think you have it all down! I don’t understand why Jinhwan told me it wasn’t finished,” Aerim gawked, staring at him in awe.

Hanbin smiled, his heart pounding extremely loud and his stomach filling with butterflies.

He turned back to his desk and pulled a pen from the small cabinet. He quickly scribbled down the lines he had just made up on the spot, adding a small note on the side,

“Aerim-ah, I think I love you.”