"So," I set a coffee on the table in front of Jooheon, "want to tell me what he said?"

"A bunch of ing bull is what he said. Sorry."

I laughed, jabbing a straw into my fizzy lemonade.

"You don't have to apologise for swearing. I am a grown up you know."

“I know.” He stirred his coffee absently. "I want to be better than that with you though."

"I'm an adult Joohoney. You can swear if you want to."

He nodded glumly. I tilted my head.

"What's wrong? Why's my Piglet acting more like Eeyore?"

"Wonho."

My fingers dug into the fabric of my pants.

"What about Wonho?"

"He... He said some things. About you."

Oh god oh god oh god please no.

"What sort of things?" I tried to keep my voice level.

Jooheon looked up at me, eyebrows knit.

! Was I not level? Too level?

"Am I moving too slow? He said he was surprised you weren't bored yet."

Relief consumed me. I laughed.

"What do you mean? You're fine."

"But you thought I didn't like you because of how slow I was. You and Wonho went through that whole thing just to get a rise out of me. I just don't want to mess up, and I figure it's better to go slow than to rush anything."

"Well," I twisted my hands in my lap, "maybe you could go a little faster? It would be nice, sometimes."

"Like what?"

"Like... I don't know... You're always so sweet, which is great! But... Gosh this is embarrassing in public."

"Just tell me jagi."

"Well... Don't you think of me? You know... As a woman?"

"Of course. You're the only woman I really talk to."

"No, I mean... As your woman. Your girlfriend... Somebody that you could..."

He was staring at me blankly. I my teeth and shook my head.

"Nevermind."

About a week had passed since the argument between Jooheon and Hoseok. Everything had settled down. Hoseok was a little more relaxed. Jooheon was just about the same, though maybe a bit clingier.

I stood in the kitchen of the dorm, preparing a large pot of ramyun. Kihyun was next to me, cutting up vegetables to make dinner resemble something healthy.

After a while, he set his knife down next to half a red pepper.

"I think Jooheon isn't interested in ."

I dropped the spoon into the pot. Kihyun's hand darted forward, grabbing my wrist. Good thing too, since my first instinct was to reach into the boiling liquid after the spoon.

"Watch it!"

I blinked, staring into the pot. I turned to look at Kihyun.

"What? What do you mean?"

Turning down the flame, he pulled me away from the stove. I sank onto one of the stools by the counter.

"Well... I'm not sure. He hasn't really tried anything, right?"

"We are not having this conversation. Of course he's interested in... I mean... He was all jealous over Wonho, right? He likes kissing me, and says he likes when I... Uh..."

"When you moan," Kihyun nodded, "I know. We've talked about it."

"You what?!" I could have died from embarrassment. Why would Jooheon talk about that? Why would he talk to Kihyun about that? Of all people... At least it wasn't Hyunwoo.

Kihyun started on the vegetables again.

"He was worried after that fight with Wonho. He says he likes some stuff, but not all of it."

"Some stuff..." I repeated dully. That would explain his hesitation. I shook my head.

"Okay... So... God this is a weird conversation. What kind of stuff does he like?"

Kihyun shrugged.

"Teen stuff. Kissing, making out, feeling your body. He said he likes the warmth and the curves, but he just doesn't really care to go further."

I was trying to be understanding. Internally though... I wondered what was so repulsive about me.

"Did he..." I thought about how to phrase my concerns without sounding accusatory.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Hearing my voice crack, Kihyun dropped the knife. He circled around the counter and put his hands on my shoulders.

"No. Not at all. He loves you - so much. He's so into you that it's annoying sometimes."

My throat felt dry. I nodded, but had to sniff back tears.

"Then why wouldn't he want... that?"

Kihyun looked distressed. I realised that Jooheon probably asked him to talk to me. This was probably more than he bargained for.

"He just doesn't. And it's not because of you. He doesn't want it with anyone."

"Did I ruin it? Maybe Hoseok said something and now he thinks that I'm n-"

"Yah! I just told you that he's crazy for you." Kihyun stared at me intently until I nodded.

"Good. And Wonho didn't say anything about that. But you should probably talk to him about it before Wonho spills it," Kihyun grimaced, "you know how petty he gets when he's angry."

I nodded. It was honestly a miracle that Hoseok hadn't said anything yet.

"Alright. Now, I'm going to finish this," he gestured to the food, "you go talk to Joo. He's in his room, probably nervous as No.Mercy."

I hiccuped a laugh, and nodded. Kihyun smiled, giving my shoulder a reassuring pat.

Jooheon had his notebook out, but was just staring at the wall. His leg was bouncing quickly, causing a rhythmic squeak in his chair.

"Joohoney."

He bounded up out of his chair at my voice. Spinning, he faced me, hesitating. Always hesitating.

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