♥ Day Nine ♥

Jaerim was excited. No, that was an understatement. He was beyond excited. It didn't matter to him that he was just getting out from suspension and it didn't matter that he was waking up at the crack of dawn to get to the principal’s office and it didn't matter that he would probably see Jaemyung walking the school halls with a smug look on his face. To him, all that mattered was that he would get to see Soeun and talk to her. He would talk to her because she wants to talk to him. What a glorious day it is!

So that morning when he woke up, he immediately grabbed his phone as he had done every ten minutes of every waking hour to make sure that he hadn't been dreaming. He pressed the ‘home’ button of his Samsung phone and smiled at his wallpaper: Soeun’s first ever text message to him. He also proceeds to unlock the phone and look through his messages to double check that the text was real. He grinned once more when he saw that it was. Jaerim shook his head at the twenty five other texts he sent her back (which she didn't reply to except once) but he didn't care that he looked eager or desperate or if his actions were embarrassing. As long as it was her, he didn't care if he looked like a fool, he just cared about what she thought and so far it looks like she could like him too.

Jaerim scrolled to the bottom of the messages where she replied to him. One text (or in this case two) could make him follow her and obey her, and he'd do it all for her gladly.

It’s not that I don't want to reply to you but I really want to talk to you face to face. I promise that after we talk, I'll reply to every text message you send. So…ummm…yeah…I'll see you on Tuesday. Be patient.

He kissed his phone screen and did a happy dance with the widest smile plastered on his face. He could feel it, and he was more than sure. This was the day that he would make Soeun his.

♥♥♥

Soeun waited for him in the classroom after she gave up standing in front of the principal’s office. She was fidgeting the whole time, and not even Sojung could calm her down. But Jaerim didn't show up until class started and he was accompanied by the principal. He didn't even bow to the teacher when he came in, his eyes landed directly on her. As Jaerim was instructed to take his seat, and as all the students looked back down on their desks, he sent her a wink. And her stomach turned and the butterflies fluttered all around.

Their teacher cleared his throat.

“Class, I have a new assignment for you today. You will be paired and then will have to decide and work on together a performance of some sort for a Christmas talent show exclusively for this task. Both of you in the pair must contribute and perform.”

As usual for this class, everyone groaned and some even rolled their eyes. The teacher didn't care, he was even wearing the newest Christmas sweater that he bought. He listed off some ideas for performances, singing, dancing, poem recitment, comedy skit, anything under the sun, was accepted.

“You will sit next to your partner. When I have read out all the pairs, you may leave the classroom and find a spot to come up with your performance. Anyone caught leaving school will be suspended. Let’s start with Minseo and Gitae…”

The students begrudgingly moved to sit with their partner, some even chose to sit as further apart as possible on their seats.

“…Soeun and Jaerim…”

The entire class turned their heads towards the aforementioned students, even Sojung couldn't help at her eyes bulging out in shock. They looked at their teacher who seemed not to notice and continued to read out the names of the pairs.

Soeun moved to sit beside Jaerim, blushing and not being able to look up at him. She could feel his intense gaze on her again and she knew that he was smiling. She felt his breath tickle the right side of her neck and she felt even more embarrassed to be looked at. They were in the back of the class so she knew if anybody turned around to look at them, the incident the previous week still a hot topic within the school.

When the complete set of pairs were read out, some students rushed out to get their favorite spot. Jaerim and Soeun lingered a little bit longer in the classroom, Sojung tossing Soeun a knowing and encouraging smile as she left the room with her partner. Jaerim shifted closer to Soeun and whispered to her.

“Let's get out of here so we can have that talk.”

Soeun’s heart beat faster and the nerves started to creep in. She grabbed her bag and made a beeline out of the room, avoiding the look from the teacher. It didn't take Jaerim long to meet her outside. He tugged at her arm and led her in the direction of the library, but continued to walk slightly further when they reached a door, that was out of sight of the hallways.

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere private.”

He led her up a flight of stairs, as they reached the top she could feel the rush of the wind go past her and small piles of snow that covered the staircase railing and ground. When they reached the top she was completely dumbstruck.

“You can see the entirety of Seoul from here…” Her breath became intermingled with the cold air as she spoke.

“Well now you know my secret…well, at least one of them.”

She turned to look at him and found the sight incredibly cute. Jaerim’s cheeks were flushed and he zipped up his jacket up to his neck and he had a lopsided grin on his face.

“What else?”

“Hmmm…why don't you tell me what you wanted to tell me first? If I like what you say I may just tell you all of my secrets.”

Jaerim removed his bag from his back and retrieved a few things and unpacked them on the ground. He laid down a picnic blanket and moved towards the shaded part of the rooftop and sat down on it beckoning Soeun to join him. He also brought out a few heat packs and gave them to her. The nerves started to creep back up and her words were on the top of her tongue but she couldn't open .

“So...”

She took a deep breath and let it out.

“So I just wanted to say thank you again for sticking up for me the other day and I'm sorry for losing the bracelet”

When she looked at him he had a wide smile on his face.

“That's it?”

“I…I…uhhhh….I think so…yeah…”

He pinched her cheeks and moved his face inches away from her. Her heart stopped and she wondered if he could feel it.

“Fine, I'll go first. I'll tell you my other secret.”

Soeun stared up at him expectantly. His hands moved from her face to holding hers and she couldn't even remember when it got there because she felt like his hands were always meant to be there, with hers, like it found a perfect piece of the puzzle.

“I punched that guy because you didn't deserve the disrespect he was doing to you. I punched that guy because I was jealous that he got to spend time with you. I punched that guy because I thought he was going to take you away from me. And I gave you a bracket because…”

 Soeun was holding her breath waiting for him to continue. She felt like her heart was going to explode. She felt like her heart was no longer under her control. It’s like he could make it stop and start again without any of her input. It was cold outside but she felt really warm. He put his hand I'm his pocket and took out a bracelet. The bracelet she thought she lost. She reached out with her hand and he put it back on her.

“…I like you…”

Jaerim looked pawn with a sheepish smile on his face. She smiled too. He gave her what she was missing, and with him she found what she was looking for. She guided his face to look at her again.

“I'll tell you a secret too…”

She was sure her eyes were now mirroring his. Shining bright, content, happy.

His voice was dry and his mind went into overdrive waiting for her. “You can tell me anything…”

“You’ve made my heart stop and then beat fast like it's going to explode all in the past ten minutes. When you look at me, I feel funny and warm and happy that I have your attention. I was sad when I lost the bracelet but now it's back where it belongs. I think…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Soeun was grabbed by the shoulders and her body was pressed against his warm one. She hugged him tightly and he hugged her back like he was never going to let go.

AN: Hey guys! So, I'm really excited for the episode later today. Seriously, I cannot wait for it. I hope all of you had a good new year, and yeah! Let's all bask in the Solim love.