It was a quiet, calming Saturday night and Yixing was sitting on the couch, wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, her hair up in a messy bun. She had a bowl full of popcorn beside her, soda in her hand while her other hand was far down the popcorn bowl, Yixing stuffing her face with popcorn as she watched an action movie.
The movie was just getting to the good part, when her doorbell rang. She looked from the TV to the door, contemplating if she should get up. The person knocked 5 more times before Yixing heaved a frustrated sigh, pausing the movie and putting the bowl of popcorn and her soda down on the finely polished wood coffee table. She walked over to the door and peeked through the peephole and saw a grey shirt and brown hair. She could recognize that hair anywhere. It belonged to none other than her long time best friend Minseok. She sighed, slightly irritated that he had disturbed her movie watching and curious as to why Minseok had come to her apartment at midnight. She opened the door and when Minseok turned around, Yixing gasped, her hand flying up to cover her now open mouth. Minseok’s bottom lip was busted and the side of his head was bleeding. There also seemed to be minor knife wounds on his left cheek.
“Minseok! What happened to you!?”
Minseok slightly smiled, “I’ll tell you later. Can I come in?”
Yixing nodded and stepped aside, shutting the door once Minseok entered her apartment. She ran into the living room to see Minseok slowly sit down onto her couch, clutching his side. Yixing quickly cleared the coffee table and ran to the bathroom to get the first aid kit, Neosporin, a hand towel and some cotton balls. She then ran into the kitchen to fill a small cup with water. She ran back to the living room to see that Minseok was now laying down on the couch. Yixing set the stuff down onto the coffee table and dragged the table towards Minseok. She sat on the edge of the couch and brushed away the stray strands of hair from his forehead. She lightly placed her hand on his chin, afraid that if she wasn’t careful, she might hurt him some more. She then tilted his head to the side, inspecting the cut on the side of his forehead. She let go then looked Minseok in the eye.
“Okay Minseok, now tell me. What happened to you?”
Minseok felt butterflies in his stomach when he saw Yixing gazing at him with kind, worried eyes and when her angelic voice softly spoke his name.
“Well, I was walking over to your house when I heard two boys from our class talking about you informally. They were talking about how they wanted to, you know, touch you…”
Minseok trailed off as he tried to not look Yixing in the eye.
“And I couldn’t just let them talk about you like that.”
Yixing sighed not saying another word as she turned to the table. She picked up the hand towel and wet it, cleaning away the dried blood and dirt. She then picked up a cotton ball and dipped it into the cup. She then turned to Minseok and softly tilted his head to the side, dabbing at the cut. Minseok closed his eyes and bit his lip. It didn’t hurt, it’s just that the water was cold. As Yixing continued lightly dabbing at the cut she spoke up.
“But why Minseok?”
“What do you mean, ‘why'?”
“Why did you do it? Why did you confront them when you knew that you wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Minseok scoffed as Yixing put the now bloodied cotton ball onto the table.
“You think I’m weak?”
Yixing looked back at Minseok and quickly shook her head.
“Of course I’m not saying your weak Minseok. You’re very strong. But even a strong person can’t beat two people at the same time.”
Minseok just stared at Yixing as she put some Neosporin on her index finger. He knew that Yixing was right. Yixing smeared the Neosporin over Minseok’s cut and grabbed a bandage, lightly placing it over the cut. Yixing then started to tend to the cuts on Minseok’s cheek. Minseok stared at Yixing as she diligently worked on fixing his cut. His eyes trailed down to Yixing’s lips. He wanted to kiss those lips but he was afraid of rejection and their friendship crumbling into nothingness.
‘Ah, screw it.’ Thought Minseok as he propped himself up on an elbow. He lifted his other hand to the back of her neck and pushed her face towards his. Yixing let out a startled gasp as Minseok’s lips met hers. The kiss was slow and soft, their lips barely touching. At first, Yixing wasn’t kissing back and Minseok got scared, thinking that he did indeed, screw up. But then, he got surprised when Yixing’s hand fell to his chest and she softly kissed back. The kiss lasted for a while until they both had to pull away due to lack of oxygen. Yixing rested her forehead against Minseok’s, her eyes still closed. Minseok sighed in relief as he took in Yixing’s features. He sat up and put his hands on her cheeks, making Yixing look at him. Her lips were slightly parted, confusion and a hint of happiness in her eyes.
Minseok absentmindedly her cheek with his thumb as he smiled.
“I was coming over to your house to tell you that I had feelings for you. Still have feelings for you. Ever since that day when you fell off the swing in the 2nd grade because you were falling asleep.”
He ended the sentence with a chuckle and Yixing smiled, happy that Minseok remembered the first time they met.
Yixing looked away from Minseok and mumbled out, “I like you too.”
Minseok’s smile grew as he nodded, engulfing Yixing into a tight hug. When Yixing was done tending to his wounds, he laid back down on the couch, dragging Yixing down with him. Yixing fell on top of Minseok and giggled quietly, deciding not to fight back and laid her head on his chest. Minseok kissed the top of Yixing’s head and wrapped his arms around her waist, happy that after many years, he finally had the courage to tell Yixing how he felt.