Chapter 32

“Get on with it you two!” Jiseok says pulling JB and then me up towards the closet. “AND don’t come out until the 7 minutes are over! Just let us know if you need more time together,” he winks closing the door leaving JB and I together in the dark closet chest to chest.

“Um… Are you okay?” JB asks awkwardly after a minute.

“Yeah.”

“I’m so sorry for putting you in this position. I don’t want to make you do something that you don’t want to do.”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

“So… Great performance earlier today,” JB says embarrassed clearing his throat afterwards.

“You too.”

“Thanks to you, we won.”

“That’s not true. I didn’t do anything.”

“You heard the judges earlier. They loved the creativity and fact that they’ve never seen or heard of reggaeton before.”

“Hey! Why do we hear talking? You’ve got 4 minutes left,” Jiseok calls from outside the door.

“Gosh, he’s so annoying I swear!” JB says irritated.

“Yeah, he can be a bit pushy but that’s just Jiseok” I say.

“Is there a light in here? It’s kinda dark.”

            I stay completely still as JB fumbles around touching the walls feeling for the light switch. When the light is finally , my heart is caught in my throat. JB has me caged in with his left hand on the wall right beside my right cheek and he’s looking down at me with his eyes.

            We are just staring at each other until JB’s face inches closer, closer, and closer to mine, no longer looking into my eyes but my lips. Our lips slowly and softly caress each other that we can feel each other’s breaths. Our noses are touching before JB finally presses his soft lips onto mine. In a moment of surprise, I back away only to feel JB’s hands on my waist gently pulling my body onto his, not breaking the kiss. My hands automatically entangle themselves around his neck. I can feel JB’s hands travel from my hips to my back, delicately messaging it under my varsity jacket.

“I knew that they would need more than 7 minutes,” Jiseok chuckles after opening the closet door, leaving the entire room to witness the scene.

            A chorus of, “Way to go JB!”, “Whaaa”, and “Woohoo!” breaks out.

           Upon the realization that it isn’t just us two anymore, I pull away from the kiss embarrassed and sit down on the floor where I was sitting before.

“Hey! No need to be embarrassed you two. You guys make a cute couple!” Jiseok comments.

            JB’s ears are bright red and you can tell he’s trying to hide his blush.

            The rest of the party felt really awkward. Everyone kept looking over at JB and I as if they are waiting for something to happen.

“Well, I think I’m going to go” I announce standing up.

“Aw, why?” Hojin slurs his words.

“It’s really late. I’ll see all of you on Monday.”

“Here, let me walk you” JB says putting on our matching varsity jacket.

“It’s okay. You have guests to tend to.”

“They’re all passed out, it’ll be fine,” he says closing the door.

            The air feels slightly chilly but comfortable. Although things were awkward earlier because of this kiss, the silence between us as we walk isn’t.

“Thanks for walking me home,” I say as we have finally arrived at my apartment.

“It was nothing” he says as he kicks an invisible rock.

“Well, I’ll see you Monday.”

           He softly nods his head and leaves. Before I punch in the last number to get into my apartment, I feel someone grab my wrist and pull me in for quick kiss.

“Sleep well,” says JB with a smile before leaving.

Author’s Point of View

            JB couldn’t be any happier than he is now. Winning the school dance contest against Black List was great, but kissing the girl he has liked since he first saw her enter the audition room was beyond this world.

            Not being able to contain his feels JB did a celebratory dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTe1A03vnQA (ignore the girl in the video)