She liked his presence, Dabin admitted it to herself. That was the reason why she did not hesitate approaching him whenever she saw him and why she would stick to him. In her defense, he seemed to like her presence as well if not, they would not be walking along Myeongdong together.

It was a sunny Saturday and Jaemin, through text, invited her to hang out with him. The said male had asked for her cellphone number several days ago which she gladly gave. At first, they exchanged awkward texts until they became more natural as if the two were talking face-to-face. He would ask her about her day and tell her about his and vice versa. There were times when they would call each other and it was because Dabin accidentally pressed the ‘call’ button a few days ago (which she informed him but he was glad to talk to her anyway).

“I like this,” the male pulled the female away from her trance when he spoke. “I like walking with you. Like, it’s so calming despite the crowd.” He was smiling widely—and beautifully, mind you—even if they had not really been talking as he looked ahead. It was as if being beside the female was enough for him.

His smile caused the fluttering of the female’s heart, as if it malfunctioned for a moment. She did not complain because no matter how weird it was, she did not seem to hate it. “Thank you,” she found herself saying. “I-I mean, you’ve been a really nice friend. And you speak to me a lot even if I don’t speak that much,” she trailed off, immediately turning red and explaining when the male turned to her with such a confused expression on his face.

“Ah,” the male nodded his head, his eyes not leaving Dabin’s. “It’s okay. If anyone is supposed to thank anyone, it should be me thanking you.” His voice was loud yet gentle when he spoke. “You’re understanding and you listen well. Even if you do not talk that much, you still try your best to keep up with my babbling. I am really thankful that I met you.”

Dabin tried to suppress the smile that was forming on her lips upon the male’s honest confession to no avail. She felt like she was grinning creepily but her wide smile was mirrored by the male. The female realized that they had both stopped walking and had faced one another for a moment. When it dawned upon her, it made her face red.

“I wish you’d be just as happy when you see me and just as comfortable with me. I hope you can express yourself to me, tell me the things that you like and dislike,” Jaemin said. “I hope to be closer to you.”

Enthusiastically, Dabin nodded her head. She had never felt that way before but with Jaemin, she felt like she could be more honest and that she could be more like herself.

Maybe they had started going out long before they had confessed their feelings for one another. They were not official yet but they would often hang out with one another and call one another.

“How was school?” Jaemin’s voice over the phone was both gentle and sweet, like a thick honey, enough to make Dabin’s inside churn in a positive way and enough for the butterflies to gather inside her tummy.

It was around eight in the evening, Dabin just finished doing her assignments but she was still stressed out and worried about what might happen. She knew Jaemin was busy as well, the male had told her so; yet when she called him, the latter answered the phone right away, cheerfully as if he had been waiting for it.

“Aren’t you busy?” Dabin muttered even though she was well aware that she was the one who called him first. She wanted to dodge his question, to be completely honest. She knew he was just as tired so it would be very selfish of her to rant to him. All she wanted was to hear his voice to calm herself down even just a little. “I’m sorry for disturbing you.”

“No, not at all,” the male firmly denied. “Did something happen? Do you want to meet up? We can both take a breather in the café.”

That was why the female found herself crying beside the male inside the 24-hour library café they frequented in. Dabin could barely contain her emotions, not when Jaemin told her that it was okay to cry to him and to lean on him sometimes. She cried because he looked so worried about her; she cried because she felt like everything was not being fair; she cried because she felt like she had been so strong for a long time; she cried because she knew he was there for her.

Dabin felt Jaemin’s hand slowly caressing her head, patting it to comfort her as he slowly bring her to his arms. He let her complain, he let her cry, and he let her whine. For a moment, Dabin was sure that the world was being fair and that living was something beautiful.

If she was not living in such a world, she would not have met Na Jaemin, the very person who made everything else look beautiful.