You held your breath while slowly turning around. You widened your eyes at what you saw.

Jongin was standing in his doorway wearing black sweatpants and a simple white shirt. The shirt hugged his body so well, almost like it was made just for him. With his messy blonde hair partially covering his eyes, all you were able to see were his full lips and the faint pinkish color of his cheeks. He looked really handsome.

You knew that you were blushing and instinctively looked down, almost as if to hide it.

“Hey” he said. He sounded tired, you noticed how the sweat bead at his forehead fell to his cheek. He must have been practicing.

“H…Hi” you replied, internally swearing at yourself for stuttering. You cleared your throat and tried to ignore the rapid pounding of your heart. “I… just wanted to see if you were home, j…just because you weren’t at school today” You managed to say.

His eyes widened and he took a step towards you.

You gripped the side of your dress. Jongin made you nervous, really nervous.

It was strange because when you were younger it was never like this. Back then, he was just Jongin. 

So why am I so nervous. You thought.

He took a few more steps and stopped right in front of you. He raised his hand and brought it close to your face; you felt his soft fingers brush up against your heated cheeks and you shut your eyes. He moved a wet strand of hair from the side of your cheek and tucked it behind your ear. You shuddered as his warm hand briefly made contact with your wet neck.

“Why is your hair wet, you’re going to catch a cold” he said.

You felt like you were in a trance, it took a few seconds for you to snap out of it and try to form a sentence in response.

“I…I was just about to step out, I didn’t have much time to dry it” you said, still looking at the ground.

Jongin immediately grabbed your hand and pulled you inside his apartment.

“Wait I have to go-“you said, although you realized it was probably too quiet to be audible.

He sat you down on his leather sofa. “Wait here I’ll be right back” he said.

"Wait Jongin!" you tried to say, but he was already long gone.

You awkwardly sat there with your hands in your lap, unable to speak or move. You were broken out of your trance when you heard your phone vibrate. You reached into your bag and saw that it was your aunt Yumi calling so you pressed ‘answer’.

“_____-AH! WOULD YOU MIND COMING IN AN HOUR LATER THAN YOUR SHIFT? ITS NOT VERY BUSY AT THE BAKERY SO MINHO-YAH AND I ARE JUST CLEANING UP FOR THE EVENING RUSH” she said, practically screaming into the phone.

“Okay” you cringed, while holding your phone away from your ear. Your aunt Yumi had just gotten a new phone and was still struggling getting used to it. Although her previous phone worked just fine, she insisted she needed a new one so she could ‘fit in with the trend’ and face-time her son in uncomfortable situations.

 “By the way aunt Yumi, you don’t have to yell into the phone I can hear you just fine” you added.

“OH RIGHT” she said. “WELL I’LL SEE YOU SOON!” she said hanging up.

You giggled a bit at your aunts antics; she always did ridiculously crazy things but you loved her regardless. You and your aunt Yumi had gotten a lot closer over the past few years.

When you were first accepted into Royal Oaks, your mom suggested you live on campus so that the commute would be easier for you. Although you liked the idea, you didn’t want your mother living all by herself. You protested for a while until your aunt Yumi suggested that your mother live with her. Your mother didn’t like the idea of freeloading,  regardless of the fact that they're sisters. She only agreed under the condition that she would help co-manage your aunt’s bakery. This worked out perfect because your aunt had been struggling managing the bakery by herself, and some extra hands were just what she needed. You would often work there on weekends and some weeknights to lend a helping hand and to catch up on your studying when it wasn’t busy.

After a few minutes, Jongin walked out of his kitchen with a towel in his hand and a cup of green tea. He placed the tea on the coffee table and walked over to the sofa you were sitting at. He sat next to you and draped the towel on your head and around your shoulders. You two had a brief moment of eye-contact until you looked away, seemingly embarrassed. He did the same a few seconds after you and cleared his throat. Just before you turned your head though, you could’ve sworn you just saw him blush.

“You should be thankful you have someone like me to look after you” he said smugly, getting up to sit by the sofa infront of you.

“Thanks” you said in a sarcastic tone. “But I’m pretty healthy you know, I don’t catch colds that easily” you said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Really? I seem to remember a teary-eyed-runny-nose girl with glasses. That was you, wasn't it?” he laughed.

“Hey! I had allergies okay!” you made a face at him which just made him laugh harder.

You were starting to get annoyed by his teasing so you decided to take a sip of the tea while trying to ignore him. Although you didn’t really like tea, it tasted surprisingly good and made you all warm inside.

“Ahh” you let out

“Is it good?” he asked.

It was really good, but you didn’t want to give him that satisfaction, especially after all that teasing.  But you had to admit, you were a lot different back then. You were chubbier and wore glasses; you also had a lot less confidence which meant it was easier for people to take advantage of you. Jongin, on the other hand, hadn’t changed much. He looked basically the same, aside from his body. He’s a lot taller now, and he generally looks a lot stronger and bigger. And let's not forget his blonde hair, his beautiful and soft blonde hair. You glanced up from your tea and noticed how prominent his arms looked in the shirt he was wearing.

What am I doing? Snap out of it you thought.

“So you were worried about me?” he said.

“Huh?” you asked, looking up from the tea.

“You said you wanted to see if I was home, you were worried about me?” he smirked.

“Oh…” you were instantly regretting your earlier conversation. “I wasn’t worried!” you quickly added. “I mean… I just wanted to thank you for driving me home last night”

Phew.

“Oh, was that the only reason?” he asked.

You swirled the remaining bit of tea in your cup. “Yeah” you said, trying to avoid eye contact.

You two didn't say anything for a few minutes, although it felt like ages. Jongin broke the silence.

"I was actually at a dance studio, the one at school is usually crammed so I go to another one" he said. "My dance team and I were practicing for an upcoming show, i just got back actually, haven't even showered" he chuckled.

"Oh, right, I heard you're the leader of the dance team at Royal Oaks?" 

"Yeah" he smiled modestly. "I dont know how it happened" he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You're good Jongin, you've always been good" you found yourself saying. 

He gave you a shy smile, you couldn't help but smile yourself. His smile did something to you. 

"You seem a lot happier than before Jongin, it's nice to see" you bit your lower lip and glanced down at your tea.

"You too" he said. "And, you've changed quite a bit too. You've gotten prettier. A lot prettier..." he smiled, trying to catch your eyes with his.

You blushed, trying to hide your embarassment. You knew Jongin was staring right at you. But you were afraid that if you looked up at him, you wouldn't be able to look away.

“I should go” you got up.

“Okay, I’ll walk you out” he said, getting up with you. “By the way, where are you heading? I can drive you” he added.

“No no, I’m just going down to ‘Chews’ it’s the bakery down the block. My aunt owns it so I work there to help her out, it’s not far”

You waved goodbye to him and walked out of his apartment and pressed the door to the elevator. Once the elevator arrived you walked on.Just before you pressed the 'main floor' button, you heard Jongin call out your name. You turned to him and saw that he was leaning on his door, straight across from you.

“hmm?” you asked

“Next time you miss me, just say so” he said, brushing back his hair, his face was lightly flushed.

Your eyes widened and you were about to reply when the elevator doors shut in front of you.

You moved back and let out a small sigh.

I think… he’s right.

I miss him. 

A/N:

Super short chapter I know! Im sorrryyy, next chapter will be longer i promise!

What do you like most about Jongin in this story?