“Hey, hey, let’s make a Tiktok together,” I grasped his arm tightly and gave him my most convincing puppy eyes. This usually does the trick because Baekhyun does anything for his best friend, even a Tiktok video.

            He playfully rolled his eyes. “Again? Didn’t we do one the other day?”

            “Okay, but you found that one fun to do! And you love Say So,” I egged him on. “Please~ Just one more, I promise.”

            “Fine, fine,” he shoved my hands off of him. “What are we doing today, m’lady?”

            I smiled at him. “Sehun and Chanyeol did that really cool dance with Gaeko on Sehun’s account. I want to do that one.” What Baekhyun doesn’t know is that I have something else planned.

            Baekhyun and I have been inseparable best friends for quite sometime now. I would say since our middle school years. We were neighbors and still neighbors per say since being in our middle years of grad school, we’ve moved out our family homes years ago and moved into condo units right next to each other. I mentioned we were inseparable, right? Most of our friends thought we should have just lived in with each other if we were just going to end up like this.

            I feel my main reason for being best friends with Baekhyun back in middle school is that I liked him and his company. I didn’t know him that well, but just seeing him around the corridors got my heart racing, especially during music class and he would sing his whole heart out and make every girl, especially me, fall for him. I’m just surprised he found joy in hanging out with me as well. Maybe, he saw that I only hung out with a few friends on occasion, but never the same people and though he could fill in as the one friend that I could hang out with all the time.

            We met because we were in the same class and sat next to each other. It was said that the homeroom teacher was pretty strict on the placement of his students and set up a seating chart that would be kept until the very end of the year unless something comes up for a change in seating. I’m not much a people person, but I’m not too shy either and if I’m going to be stuck with him for the rest of the year, I might as well be friendly with my seat partner. We hit it off quite easily having so much in common and being next door neighbors. We both never realized we lived next to each other since I always walked to school as it was the only form of exercise I get and parents leave for work before I wake up and his parents drops him off before they leave for work. At some point, he stopped getting dropped off to walk with me to school. I still don’t know why he stopped to walk with me, but Baekhyun mumbled something about needing more exercise too.

            Finally getting to know him, I could fully form my crush on him. Throughout the years, I kept telling myself that maybe I don’t like him that much and we could keep staying best friends after learning so much of his personality and how… interesting it is. At school, everyone thinks he’s perfect and so boyfriend-material as he keeps telling girls that “oppa needs his rest to grow tall” when in reality, he is that. Just add in how much of a nerd he is and how annoying he is as well. People don’t understand that I once stayed in a PC room with him for nearly 20 hours as he played League of Legends and then attempted to teach me. I’m not as good as him, but enough to be a support and gain a victory. It got to the point of my patience that for his birthday, I bought him a gaming laptop, so that we could stay at home instead. It saves money too, if you exclude the cost of the computer that is. My point stands that he is much more squishier at home than he is at school. I love that I know about him though.

            I think it fully hit me that I actually love him more than my best friend would be junior year of high school. It was during a group project for literature about Greek Mythology. Baekhyun being the smarter of the two of us, most people wanted him in his group and yet, he always declined when they didn’t exactly want me in as well. Groups were made to be 5 or 6 people and when Baekhyun would ask if I could join, they’re excuse would be that they were already at the max for people or they only needed one more person. Most groups were only at 5, including Baekhyun. If my assumption about Baekhyun’s assumption about me in middle school was true then it is. I tend to have a hard time making friends when it isn’t the people I sit next to and when I’m not the smartest kid either. It touched me when Baekhyun told me that he find us a group to join.

            We sat in a café with 3 of our classmates for a couple of hours discussing our project and them being the typical Korean students, all had to leave early to go to their private tutoring, so Baekhyun and I were left on our own to finalize the list of options we all brainstormed together and set things up to work on the next meeting on Wednesday. We sat close to each other, but I didn’t realize how close we were when I felt Baekhyun’s knee rub gently against my leg as he unconsciously shook his leg. I tried not too think too much about it, mentally telling myself “it ain’t that deep.” I put my head on the table feeling so exhausted and tired looking at these confusing words that I could understand, but didn’t understand at the same time. Medusa didn’t ask to have locks of snakes and surely, she shouldn’t be punished for being .

 Turning my head towards the male next to me, I stared at him taking in how good he looked with his thinking face. The slight squint of his eyes as he looked at the computer screen and the book in his hands with the small pout adorning his pink lips. I closed my eyes feeling like crap for falling so hard for him. Baekhyun truly has refined over the past few years since meeting in middle school and I can’t imagine how much more of a fine wine he will become once we’re older in college or out working.

            I opened my eyes back up when I felt Baekhyun’s hand gently caressing my hair. He suddenly was right in my line of vision, like he was right in front of my face. So close that I could see the small acne spots decorating his cheeks. “Are you feeling tired? Should we go home?” He moved pieces of hair away from face. I can already feel my face getting hot.

            Nodding my head, he smiled. “I’ll pack everything up. You work on feeling less tired so we can walk over to the bus stop. Did you want to order anything before we leave since we’re already out?” I shook my head.

            I never felt more safe in his arms than when he was holding me in his arms to keep myself from falling asleep on the 5 minute walk to the bus stop and when he allowed me to snuggle against his arm on the 30 minute ride home.

            It is quite sad to say that I’ve never really dated anyone because I had high hopes for Baekhyun to come through. There were times I was certain that Baekhyun might have seen me more than his best friend and also times when I was certain that I was just his best friend. I didn’t want to date someone that I would only compare them to Baekhyun. It felt wrong. I have met a few guys before that I kind of fancied, but I never dated them or made them my boyfriend. Baekhyun’s dated before. I felt icky inside, but I had to respect him and if he didn’t see me in that light then I should respect that. I’m just glad I never had to meet any of his previous girlfriends and that he never mentions them when we hang out. He only had a few and yet, they never really lasted that long, which is why I never got the chance to meet them. Baekhyun would mention to me that he’s seeing someone and I’d congratulate him and he’d show me some pictures of them. They were really pretty if I have to be honest. Only for him to come to me two weeks later to tell me they’ve broken up on good terms.

            I’d ask him why and his response was that it just didn’t work out that well. He continued by saying that he’d rather be with me and watch Avatar: The Last Airbender with me for the 100^th time. I tried not to think to deep into it once again. It felt nice though to have him next to me and not with a girlfriend that I rather not know about.

            So today I decided to finally, after many years, confess to him. If he wasn’t going to notice me then I might as well claim him for myself before it’s too late and for my mother to stop nagging me to get a boyfriend already if I’m not going to marry Baekhyun.

            Being an avid Tiktok watcher, I was scrolling through when I saw girls who would film themselves attempting to kiss their best guy friend because they’ve started to like them or happen to also fall in love with them. I thought I give it a try too. This will go either really well or awfully terrible as majority of the videos I’ve seen the guys dodged the kiss. I’ve also seen some that went really well too.

            “I’m glad Sehun deleted his account right after posting that video,” Baekhyun grumbled after spending 20 minutes rewatching the video on Sehun’s instagram account.

            “What, why? I was upset that he deleted it. We could have been Tiktok buddies! I asked him why the other day and he just said he got scared about how much attention he got from his one video and he didn’t think be making a lot of videos any way since he’s ‘busy’,” I air quoted him with a roll of my eyes. “Dude, has a million followers on Instagram and he’s scared of another couple million on his Tiktok, sheesh.”

            “I just don’t want you to get anymore ideas from him and so that I wouldn’t be doing this with you.” Answering my question towards him after my long spiel.

            “Okay, but if Sehun kept his account then I would be bothering him to make videos with me instead of you,” I stated as a matter-of-fact.

            I notice a slight chance in his face when I mentioned Sehun and I being together to make videos as if I didn’t mention it before. It must have hit him when I specifically spelled it out for him that I would be with Sehun to make videos without him. “Whatever, it’s fine. Like you said, Sehun is a busy guy. He doesn’t seem much like a Tiktoker any way.”

            I chuckled at his sudden grumbly mood. “So you have the dance now, right?”  I question him and to prepare myself what is going to come very soon.

            “Who do you take me as? I absorb information like a sponge,” he smiled, proudly.

            I rolled my eyes, “okay, Spongebob,” and set up my phone to start recording. To stall even more, I had Baekhyun and I practice a couple times together before doing the real deal. I’m more of a record once and be done with it type of girl.

            When Baekhyun felt we practice enough times, it was go time. My heart was pounding so loud in my chest that I was scared of chickening out and actually doing the dance. I knew this was my only chance and it needed to be done. I needed to know if I can be with Baekhyun for the rest of my life or I needed to give up and look for another man before I die lonely because I can’t let Baekhyun go.

            The music started up and the upbeat bass of Can’t Touch This sounded through the room and Baekhyun bounced up and down hyping himself up until it was time to do the hand movements while I looked shyly into the camera and lightly tapped the tips of my two index fingers together (the new sign of being nervous and about to ask someone a soft, yet risky question). Just before the countdown started and Baekhyun and I would supposedly be doing the movements, I stepped towards him and tapped him on the shoulder. As he turned towards me, I dove straight in for the kiss. It was quick peck, nothing more or less.

            I was surprised he didn’t turn away, but I may have also caught him too much by surprise. We stared at each other for a bit before he immediately cupped my face with his hands and molded his lips with mine.

            He leaned back with a smile that I had to turn away from being too flushed in the face and turn off the video before it became a video of us kissing the entire time. “What just happened?” He questioned. It almost seemed like he was more questioning himself than me.

            “I—”

            He looked at me with an assumed look. “Do you trick me into this Tiktok video so that you could kiss me?”

            “Well… I just…”

            “You could have just told me like a normal person so I didn’t have to spend 20 minutes memorizing that dance, you dummy,” he ruffled up my hair. I pouted my lips. Baekhyun laughed and kissed the pout away. “It’s okay because I would have kissed you sometime soon anyway for being so cute.”

            “What are you talking about?” Does Baekhyun like me back? Since when? Has he always held feelings for me too?

            “I love you too. And not just as a best friend. I’ve had an inkling that maybe that you liked me more than just your best buddy, but I didn’t want to dive too much into it because I wasn’t sure of it for myself. I dated girls because I thought that we were just friends and I could freely date whoever and not feel anything because I thought I didn’t like you that way. I did feel guilty though and it didn’t feel right hanging out with a girl who wasn’t you.

            I nearly compared them to you and it wasn’t fair. I was going to say something much, much earlier until you started being close with some guys at University like Sehun and watching you grow over the years, I wasn’t sure if you were the same freshmen girl that would giggle and blush at my every word and touch.”

            I blushed bright pink. “Baekhyun… I’m still that same freshmen girl. I giggle at everything you say and your presence because you’re a joke.”

            He rolled his eyes this time. “Ha-ha, you’re so funny!” He let out a relieving sigh. “On the real though, you’ve grown into such a beautiful woman and I didn’t know if you were still interested in the same high school boy like me or the cool, university Sehun guy with the stable job, the car, and the money.”

            “Sehun was your friend first, you know? Why are you so jealous over him?”

            “Are you even paying attention to what I’m saying to you?”

            I put my face in my hands. “Ah, I’m sorry. I’m just so nervous and so new to you actually liking me back. I’ve always loved you, Baek. Even when you had girlfriends, even when we play at PC rooms, and when I’m with Sehun. I’ve never changed. To be honest, I liked you ever since we met in middle school, but finalized that I’ve fallen for you junior year.”

            “Junior year? I realized freshmen year. You’re slow,” he cheekily smiled at me. I scrunched my nose up in embarrassment and whined. “This means we can officially date each other and call each other boyfriend and girlfriend?” Baekhyun tilted his head at me, adorably.

            “Officially?”

            “I mean, don’t tell me no one has questioned you about our relationship status. Everyone practically thinks we’re dating.”

            “I guess, you’re not wrong.”

            “Of course, I’m not! I can finally tell my mother she can stop nagging about not having a girlfriend if I wasn’t going to marry you.”

            I looked at him in shock. “Oh! You’re mom too?

Whew~ That was a quick one. It was kind of cute, I guess.

The small bit about Greek Mythology is that I've suddenly been reveling in my past love for Greek mythology. I used to really love tales of Gods and such playing games on Poptropica, watching Percy Jackson over and over again, etc. It was until freshmen year of high school that I started to not be interested since I couldn't pleasure read the Oydssey and had to do timed writes and work on it and then I just didn't have time for it. It makes me SAD. That was until recently I started rereading my favroite fanfic author's fics and reread one about Sehun being the Wind Prince and it got me all jittery again about Greek Mythology. 

I rediscovered my copy of Mythology by Edith Hamilton and I am determined to fully read it and NOT skim it this time and possibly, just MAYBE, write a greek mythology fic????? I don't know. I might be planting too many seeds that might not even grow hehe.