You’ve been staring at your ceiling for quite a while now. You roll over, for the nth time, to your left and puff out sharply. Your heart has also been throbbing wildly for hours; and it beats more extremely when a scene flashes in your mind.

“You were thinking about indirect kiss, aren’t you? You want a direct one?”

You feel steam coming out from your face and you shake your head while kicking the air. You roll over to your right and ruffle your hair. Man, that Chicken! You glance at the digital clock on your bedside table. It’s already 3:14 in the morning. You sit up and fix your eyes on your wall and once again think about what happened earlier.

His loud (coughs) adorable laugh spread the park after his remark. He was laughing so much from teasing you. You narrowed your eyes on him and slammed the bench as you leaned closer to him, making your left hand (the one you slammed on the bench) as a support. With your faces few inches apart from each other, you mumble, “You want to?”

His laughing stopped and looked at you, quite surprised with how close you were to him, his gaze shifted down to your mouth. You arched a brow as if challenging him. With a smirk, you lift your hand (now with a pretzel between your thumb and index which you sneaked from his cup) and put the pretzel between your faces before taking a bite from it, with gaze still darted on his.

You leaned back with a smug and stuff the rest of the pretzel you’re holding to your mouth.

You stayed in the shed for another two hours just talking about random things again. It was almost 8:30 when he stood on the bench and fumbled something at the shed’s ceiling. He was holding a clear umbrella when he stood still.

You creased your forehead, “You actually hid an umbrella there and you’re only taking it out now?”

He did his favorite move—shrugging with a smug face. He went down the bench and opened the umbrella. “Dinner?”

You didn’t decline. You’re already hungry (and want to stay a little bit longer with him) so a dinner before going home isn’t a bad idea.

You found it astounding how you spent every afternoon with him for five consecutive days; how the two of you spent time together as if you’re good old friends; how you tease and bicker with each other; how you can talk about random things with easiness; how you eat snacks after work.

Doesn’t it look like you’re having an after-work date with him everyday?

You wave your hand trying to dismiss the thought. With a sigh, you get off from your bed and walk towards your computer unit.

“Fortnite? Overwatch? Far Cry? Hmm… what shall I play?” You continue scanning your games but in the end, you choose Minecraft.

You play until the sun’s up. You look at your window and see that it’s already bright outside. “Crap,” you save your game and turn your computer off. You grab a sweater and take your keys before heading out.

You grab breakfast from the nearest diner and you’re craving for coffee but decide not to drink one. You yawn as you walk back to your place, “Finally! Hope I’ll be getting some sleep now”

You sleep the whole morning and it’s already three minutes after 2pm when you wake up. Your grumbling tummy greets you. You take a shower and dress neatly, take an oversized hoodie and tie it on your waist, get a small sling bag and stuff your phone, wallet, and keys and head out for lunch.

You’re walking near the chicken place when an arm rests on your head. Without taking a look, you roll your eyes, “Are you stalking me?”

He scoffs, “You wish, Dude” he ruffles your hair and puts his arm on your shoulder. “Must be fate,” he chuckles

“Ew,” you grimace “I didn’t know you’re a romantic”

Brushing your remark aside, he looks at you and asks where you’re headed to. “Lunch? It’s already late for one”

“I woke up late,” you explain.

“Oh…” the side of his lips lifts “Seems like someone’s been up all night thinking of me”

You elbow his stomach which gains a soft groan from him. “Stop assuming, Mister”

He sniggers, “Oh, stop assuming, Missy. I didn’t say it’s you. Why act guilty?”

He goes with you as you eat your lunch. He does not order a single thing. He just sits in front of you, elbows on the table, fingers intertwined—chin rests on them, and watches you chew on your food the whole time.

He reaches for your drink and sips on it. You glance at him and look back to your plate. It’s not a big deal. He arches a brow at your reaction before he puts back the glass on the table.

“So where are you going now?” He asks when you finish your meal.

You shrug and lean back. “Go home?”

“Wanna come to my place?” He suggests casually and you stare at him with wide eyes.

-

“Aw!” You cry “Wait! That hurts!” You grimace as he chuckles

“I told you, I’m good at this.” Even without looking at him, you can tell he’s wearing a smug on his face

“Do you really have to do it from behind? Wait, aw!” You take your hands away from the mouse and the keyboard and glare at him “I told you no rifles!” You hiss “That was SSG 08, wasn’t it? You’re such a cheat!”

He dragged you to his apartment after you had eaten your lunch. It took you by surprise when he suggested it but when he told you to play games with him (because he has two computer units), your eyes sparkled.

He just chuckles as he half-heartedly murmurs his sorry. You crack your knuckles (getting serious) before getting your hair tie from your wrist, gather your hair and tie it in a ponytail. You smirk.

“Okay, I’ll stop.” The blue-haired straightens up “Alright, let’s just use pistols like how we originally agreed.”

When another round starts, your fingers hit the keys right away. B+1+4 to load your secondary weapon with Night Hawk .50C pistol; B+4+5 to buy a Magnum Sniper Rifle as your primary weapon. B+6+2 to equip yourself with Kevlar and helmet and you also buy some grenades.

You hit the number 3 key to load yourself with a knife to move faster.  You dash to the tunnel, hit the 4, and throw a grenade inside. Fire in the hole! You move to the side, press down the left control button to duck, and shoot when the chicken guy went out of the tunnel. You jump from left to right while shooting and run back to hide from a wall. You shift to rifle and make a headshot when he becomes visible from your sight.

“Ha!” You spite

The chicken guy half-spread his forearms in disbelief, “What the heck!” He exclaims. “You said no rifles!”

“Said the one who shot me with a rifle on the first round” You retort.

You both decide to use whatever weapon to avoid the cheating. It’s a close game but you’re leading.

“What? Planting bomb?”

“You didn’t say anything about not planting bomb earlier,” you snigger.

You both keep playing that you do not notice the time passing. If it’s not for your grumbling stomach, you would not have noticed it’s already night time.

You gasp, “Oh shoot! It’s past 7?”

The other takes a glance on his wrist watch and suggests to call it a day. You brush your hands twice before crossing your arms and turn to him, “You lose!” You paint a smug “Well, let’s go have some dinner. You’re paying”

He protests, saying you didn’t have any pact about it, but still pays for your dinner an hour after. You find it mirthful how you seem like you’ve known each other for ages that you just casually talk nonstop and laugh with each other comfortably. He even had his forearm on your shoulder again when you were walking and finding a place to eat.

And as if the hours you’ve spent with each other earlier aren’t still enough, you go towards the shed after the meal.

“What caught your interest lately?” You quiz few moments after you talked about some video games and just as when the rain starts pouring “Like, of course, other than games.”

He smiles briefly, not his usual big smile—it’s just small but deep. He leans back, both hands on the bench. “More than a week ago,” he starts “Me and my grandma went to visit my grandfather’s grave for his death anniversary. We were on our way to see my brother after that. So I was talking on the phone with him when my grandma suddenly crossed the road—technically, she saw someone who looked like my grandpa,” he pauses and smiles. You take a gulp hoping nothing bad had happened. “Then there was this lady who stopped her and brought her back to the sidewalk. I still haven’t realized it then. I only noticed that grandmother’s gone was after a few moment when people started moving to cross the street. She wasn’t behind me and when I looked around, she was already in the middle of the road, her right hand was held by that young lady—she was helping her to cross.”

“So,” you trail off. You clear your throat before speaking again, “this girl caught your interest? Did you talk to her? Thanked her?” You unconsciously bite your lower lip as a brow arches.

“I was supposed to thank her that day. I hurriedly crossed the street, and when I was just like a meter away, I stood still. I found out she works at my b—“ he tilts his head a bit “she works in the same company as my brother; she was wearing the company’s lanyard. Few days after that, I managed to talk to her,” he pauses and slowly turns his head towards you, “I talk to her everyday.”

“Ah,” you respond dryly as you walk away “I see.”

“At first I just really wanted to thank her,” he continues “If it had not been for her, I might’ve lost my grandma, too—exactly a year after I lost my grandpa.” He exhales before he lifts his hand “This is his wristwatch—my grandfather’s watch.” He his lips before flashing a smile as he puts down his hand “She piqued my curiosity. She’s genuinely nice—although not that nice to me; she’s really really fun to be with. I also love teasing her a lot because she bickers back. And I look forward to seeing her every single day.”

“Hmm,” you nod. Your eyes can’t focus on a single thing to look at. You really want to call it a night already but the rain just falls heavier. You fold your lips together as you think of what else to ask or say. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.

The blue-haired stretches and moves a few inches away from you. To your surprise, he suddenly lays himself on the bench, making your lap as his pillow. You ask yourself why you’re not complaining but instead you stare down at his soft silky face. His eyes are shut, his lips twitch a bit. As if your right hand has its mind of its own, it moves towards his head and your fingers start his hair causing his lips to stretch in a smile.

“I don’t think the rain will stop any time soon,” he declares “let me take a nap for a bit. I couldn’t really sleep last night from thinking of that girl—wondering if I’d see her today even if it’s her day off.”

Your nose scrunches as you hastily brush his face with your hand. He laughs and grabs your hand to stop you. He holds it for a while, grazing his thumb on your palm, before putting it back on his head, motioning you to his hair again. A lump forms in your throat and you swallow it as you oblige.

The audacity to talk about another girl while you’re with a girl—and even held her hand and placed your head on her lap right after you talked about the other one! You exhale a long breath before batting your eyelids briskly after feeling your eyes starting to heat up. What is wrong with me?

“Maybe, he’s making her jealous?” Wonpil suspects when you ask him what could be the meaning if a guy spends time with a girl every afternoon, eats snack and dinner with her, held her hand (even for a brief moment), and lays on her lap, but talks about another girl with so much fondness in his eyes.

It’s been two days, and you didn’t see him yesterday. He has mentioned about spending every Sunday with his grandmother so you just spent the whole day playing Far Cry.

“Why did you ask though?” Your best friend quizzes “You’ve been seeing someone?”

“What?! No!” you respond forthwith.

He narrows his eyes on you and you avoid his gaze. You take the two cups of coffee that has just been placed on the counter by the barista from the company’s café.

“Here, you hold these first.” You give him the cups and straighten up “I’ll take a quick piss before we head upstairs”

After doing your business, you see your best friend pouting (as usual) while his eyes are darted on someone. You’re not even surprised to spot the CEO when you trace Wonpil’s line of vision.

The next few hours are a blur. Maybe you just want to call it a day already and head somewhere.

“You’re going to the pantry?” Jackson asks when he sees you walking in the hallway. He strides fast to walk beside you.

“Nah,” you smile “to the library. You need me to make coffee for Mr. Park?”

You jump a little bit when he goes in front of you, puts his hands on each of your shoulder and pierces your eyes. “I need you to listen to something,” his gaze continues to dart on you as he waits for your response.

You lift both eyebrows and shrug, “What is it?”

“I found this song and I’ve been kind of singing it since this morning,” he grins “I need a company”

He gives you one of the earpieces before he fumbles on his phone. You nod when you start hearing the plucking of the guitar. You glance at Jackson and give him an approval look. His grin becomes wider and throws a fist into the air as if he just made an achievement.

I'm the kind of guy

Your jaw drops upon hearing the first line. Your heart starts beating uncontrollably. His voice sounds like him!

That'll love to love you baby
You're the kind of girl
I would give up everything for

You take a gulp. Unconsciously, you start breathing heavily; shoulders are moving up and down.

Baby all I need is your loving all around me
Oooo don't that sound kind of nice
Hey yeah ~

Your cheeks start to heat up. You can feel yourself turning red. It really sounds like him! You bite your lip as you try to keep your thoughts from wandering to the memory from two nights ago.

There is just one thing
That I need to ask you baby

Jackson starts singing and you have the urge to put a hand on his mouth to make him quiet.

Can we take this kind of slow?
Cause I don't want to mess up
Never felt like this before
And I feel I'm going crazy

“Who sung this?” You finally let your curiosity take over

Jackson  takes off the earpiece, “Oh!” he sniggers “Mr. Park’s brother when he was younger. I think this was… 3 years ago?”

“Mr. Park’s brother?” You affirm “The one who reviews our games?”

“Yeah. His only brother. Oh wait,” Jackson shifts his focus on his phone, “I downloaded his video. Let me show you. He used to have this big rimmed square glasses,” he gestures a square shape. “Here,” as if on cue, the screen changes to Mr. Park’s name “Oh sh*t! Sungjin—I mean, Mr. Park’s calling. Gotta go!”

He dashes away and you let your left shoulder lean on the wall before your knees give up. Must be my imagination.

“You okay?” a fox-eyed young man appears behind you.

“I’m fine.” You straighten up “Thanks for asking though, Younghyun”

-

Thoughts please? :)