“One more lap! Whoo! Song Mino, go!” Jiae cheered loudly into Mino’s ears.

Mino bent over with his arms linked through her knees. Jiae was on his back, using him as her own horse but he didn’t mind. He quickly caught his breath and started to run around the basketball court.

Jiae laughed and giggled as Mino ran. She raised one of her arms in the air and waved it around, “This is awesome! It’s like I’m the one that’s running! Come on, Mino, run faster!” Mino smiled knowing that she was happy and did as she said.

She had a sprained ankle and he couldn’t help but feel like it was his fault. He had taken her to the ice rink to skate around with her and romantically confess his feelings for her. But she ended up slipping and twisting her ankle so severely that she wasn’t able to walk properly for a couple of weeks. He hadn’t been able to confess so, instead, he offered to carry her around.

Mino, Jihoon, and Jiho decided to play a few rounds of basketball. He noticed that Jiae seemed so glum that he asked her if she wanted to come along. Mino carried her to the court and set her down but she still seemed a little upset. After shooting a few baskets, he walked over to her and told her that he would run around with her on his back.

So that’s what he did. He didn’t care if his lungs felt like they were on fire, to see Jiae’s smile and hear her laugh, he was willing to run around until he collapsed.

“Run, Mino, run! Burn that fat off, piggy!” Mino scowled at Jiho who never failed to make fun of Mino’s passion for eating and gaining a few pounds.

“Be quiet, oppa! You’re distracting him!” A victorious smile spread across his face as Jiho shut his mouth.

After Jihoon gave up on trying to defeat Jiho in a final round of basketball, they went their separate ways. Jiae slid onto Jiho’s back after thanking Mino for the ride. Mino blushed, “No problem.”

The walk home was silent for Mino and Jiho. Jihoon had left them seeing as how he lived in the opposite direction as them.

Jiae fell asleep on the way home, leaving the boys to enjoy each other’s company. They quietly talked about their recent compositions and how they were no longer having trouble coming up with lyrics.

Mino was the first to go home. He watched his friend carry away his little sister. And when they disappeared over the corner, he went inside.

Jiho jumped up slightly to make sure Jiae didn’t slip off of his back. He hummed a song and he could feel her squirm a little. She stirred awake as a scooter honked at them as it zipped by, warning them to watch out.

She rubbed her eyes and looked around, “Where’s Mino?”

Jiho scoffed, pretending to be offended, “How could you look for another guy when your loving brother is carrying you?”

Jiae sighed and rested her cheek on his broad shoulder. She stared at her brother’s face and noticed how he looked manlier and more mature.

“Oppa, when are you going to start dating?” Jiho stopped walking and glanced at his little sister. Her almond-like eyes stared back at him innocently.

He smirked and continued to walk. “Why are you asking?”

Jiae shifted a little and turned her head so that her chin was now his shoulder. “I’m just curious. Jiseok oppa started dating when he was also a year three student in high school. He’s brought a good amount of girls home but I’ve never even heard you talk about girls. Aren’t you lonely?”

“Why would I be lonely when I have you and mom? Do you want me start dating though?”

“I don’t know. I see students in your grade dating happily. I want you to be happy like them.”

“There just aren’t any girls that are good enough in my eyes. They need to be y. All of the girls I know are so tiny and frail.”

Jiae chortled, “I’ll help you find a really y unnie. Once you start dating, I can start.”

Jiho froze. He stared at gate to their home and then at his sister, “What did you just say? You’re not dating until you’re fifty years old. I’m not letting anyone date you and you sure as hell better not be telling me that you have a crush on someone.”

Jiae giggled into her brother’s shoulder as he muttered how discontent he was about his one and only baby sister growing up too quickly.

The Woo family was fast asleep, all except for Jiae. She looked at her closed bedroom door as she hurriedly dressed herself. She threw on her leather jacket over her oversized wool-knit maroon sweater. She slipped her feet into her favorite pair of black combat boots and hobbled out of her room. She stealthily made it out of the apartment and once she was safely in the elevator, she let out the breath she had been holding in the entire time.

It took her a while but she had finally been able to arrive in front of Mino’s apartment building. She pulled her phone out and looked for Mino’s number. She hit the “call” button and patiently waited for him to pick up.

Inside of Mino’s room, his cell phone rang loudly while his parents and little sister were sleeping. Mino on the other hand had been lying awake. He was thinking about Jiae and how much time he had been able to spend with her that day.

When his phone began to ring, he panicked. He didn’t want to wake anyone up. He checked who was calling him at midnight and when he saw Jiae’s name on the screen, he picked up immediately thinking something was wrong.

In a panicked and worried whisper he answered, “Jiae?”

“Are you sleeping?” At her calm tone, he relaxed.

“No, is something wrong?”

“Everything’s fine. I’m outside of your building. Can you come out? I have something to tell you.”

Mino shot up in his bed. His heart began to beat rapidly and he could feel the rest of his organs quivering at the force of each beat. He held his phone between his shoulder and ear as he quickly got dressed out of his pajamas and into a chicer outfit.

“I’ll be right out. Just wait like two minutes.” He hung up and put on his shoes clumsily.

He made sure he didn’t make any noise as he escaped his apartment. He tapped his foot impatiently as he took the elevator down.

When he exited the building’s main door, he looked around for Jiae and spotted her immediately. She looked up when she felt his presence and waved excitedly.

Mino ran up to her so that she didn’t have to struggle to come to him, “What are you doing here? You do know what time it is, right? And how did you even get here? You’re not supposed to be walking around on that ankle.”

Jiae held her hands out, signaling him to calm down and take it slow, “It wasn’t that bad of a walk. I’m here to thank you for today.”

“You already thanked me. Go back home before it gets any later.” He knelt down in front of her and told her to get on so that he could take her home.

Jiae, however, refused, “I meant that I’m buying you a big plate of green tea waffles at our secret hideout. Come on.” Jiae stood in front of him and held her hand out.

Mino looked up at her uneasily. But nonetheless, he grabbed her hand and stood up. They walked, or more like limped, hand-in-hand to their special bakery. He offered to carry her but she wouldn’t listen.

“Here again? At this time? Are you two sure you’re not dating?” Jiae giggled and shook her head, assuring the owner that they were just there to enjoy some waffles.

They found their booth and sat down. Jiae played with the napkin dispenser as Mino just watched her. He saw her giggle at her distorted reflection in the metal wall of the dispenser and smiled at the sight.

The two of them happily enjoyed their waffles as they talked about the fact that they were officially year two students and how the taste of meat made them so happy. They spent a good hour just talking and laughing about random things. They went from talking about waffles to how funny they would look as the opposite .

After finishing the last of their waffles, they left. They had been walking side-by-side until Jiae’s ankle began to hurt too much. At that point, Mino carried her on his back.

Jiae wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her chin on his shoulder. She glanced to look at him and a warm smile spread across her face. She nestled more comfortably onto his back, “You feel so warm and cuddly.”

Mino chuckled, “Thanks, I try.” Jiae giggled at his sarcastic joke. And then they grew silent.

Jiae stared at her hands that were hanging in front of his chest before speaking up, “Mino, have you ever fallen in love?”

Mino tried not to be taken aback and continued to walk calmly, “Do you want the truth?” He could feel his heart panicking.

“Yeah.” Her voice was but a soft whisper.

“I’m in love with someone right now. Well, I think I’m in love. I’m not completely sure what it feels like to be in love but I think what I’m feeling is love.” He felt Jiae tilting her head so that her cheek was now resting on his shoulder. He felt her gaze on his face.

“Have you confessed?” Mino shook his head, “I was going to but something happened.”

They grew silent once more. Mino wanted to ask her if she had ever been in love but he was too much of a coward. He couldn’t get himself to spit out any words.

And before they knew it, they were standing in front of her building. Jiae asked to be set down. “Are you sure you don’t want me to carry you up?” Jiae nodded silently.

Mino was starting to grow worried at her silence. She wasn’t the type of person to be so quiet for such a long time and not have a smile on her pretty little face.

He was about to bid her a good night but she didn’t let him talk. Out of the blue, she stood on her toes, grabbed him by the shoulders, and softly pressed her lips against his.

Too shocked by the situation, Mino just stood there, frozen and his eyes rounded. When Jiae pulled away, she only pulled away slightly. She pulled way just enough so that she could talk.

“If I’m the one you think you’re in love with, kiss me.” Mino pulled back a little and looked into her eyes. They were sparkling. He could have sworn he saw the entire universe shining in her pupils.

Without any further hesitation, he leaned in and kissed her. They stood there, in front of her building at 1:30 in the morning, sharing a tender first kiss.