(Part 2)

I have decided that Ahn Yujin is quite cute when she doesn’t speak. 

I mean, she’s still cute when she speaks, but sometimes the annoyance I feel over her words overpowers her cuteness. 

But, right now, I’m watching her flip through the pages of her script in the library. She’s very focused on the script. I’ve seen her here a couple times throughout this week. By accident, of course. 

The first time I saw her, I was just going to the bathroom during my class and I guess she had a free period because I saw her through the window, her chin resting on the palm of her hand and nose stuck in the bright green script. That’s how I knew she was reading the script, because nothing else was that bright green color. She had a pink highlighter swishing up and down between her teeth which later I realised looked like my own highlighter that I coincidentallIy lost a couple days prior to seeing her. 

The second time I saw her was… okay… I’ll admit it. It wasn’t an accident. I left during the exact same period on a different day, pretending I had to borrow a book from the library. She didn’t see me because she was too focused, and it took everything in me not to go over to talk to her. Not my fault! She looked absolutely adorable. 

Right now, though? 

I asked her to study here after school. With me. Crazy, right? 

“I can’t believe you asked me out on a date, Bunny.” Yujin leans against the chair while twirling a pen between her fingers. 

“We’re just here to study.” 

“Exactly. It’s a study date.” 

I don’t look up from my laptop. 

“I asked you because we need to go over our lines for the play.” I say, picking up my laptop to show her the screen. “But, after I finish this science report. I’m almost done.” 

“Ooh, science.” Yujin peers at the screen. “Is it chemistry? I’ve been told I’m a bit of a master at that.” 

I almost say ‘actually we’re the master of that’, but I don’t because I knew I wouldn’t have heard the end of it from her. 

“AP Physics.” I say with a groan. “For a science subject, there’s a lot of maths involved.” 

I enjoy maths more than other subjects especially because there is only one correct answer most of the time. You just have to figure out how to get there. Doesn’t mean that I love doing it. 

“Not a fan?” Yujin says. “I quite like maths. Probably my strongest subject.” 

That causes me to look up from my laptop. 

“Oh, really?” 

Yujin nods, her face serious. 

“I’m super good at equations.” Yujin leans across the desk, looking like she’s about to whisper a secret. “My favorite equation is: you plus me.” 

I roll my eyes, wondering how I didn’t expect that in the first place. 

“And what does that equal?” I humor her. 

“Power couple.” She grins. And without missing a beat she says, “be my girlfriend.” 

I swear, she cannot go one conversation with me without asking me to be her girlfriend. 

She’s so lucky that she’s cute. 

“You know what my favorite equation is?” I shyly hold her hand from across the table. It’s such a great feeling, seeing the way she reacts whenever I flirt back. It’s fun seeing the great Ahn Yujin looking slightly panicked. 

She recovers a little bit and returns my smile, excited to see what I’m going to say. 

“What is it?” 

“Ahn. Plus Yujin.” 

“Which equals?” 

I’m on the edge of my seat now, moving closer to her. Or was it her moving closer to me? Maybe it was both? 

 “Annoying jock.” I flick her forehead with my free hand. Hard. 

I grin at the way Yujin recoils, her hand being brought up to her forehead. 

“Ow! Bunny, that hurt.” Yujin pouts and rubs at her forehead. 

“Go and study, superstar.” 

Yujin sighs. “I told you, I’d quit basketball for you!” 

“And I told you to have some self-respect and not quit!” 

“But, you said you’re not into jocks!” 

“Boohoo.” I stick my tongue out at her. 

I swear, I hear her mumble something along the lines of ‘plus, it’ll give me a break from basketball for once’ but I decide to let it slip for now, especially seeing the way her mood seems to deflate slightly at that. 

Suddenly, I stop, reaching for my phone in my pocket. 

“Hang on. I’m getting a call.” I say as I put my phone to my ear. “Hello? Oh, yeah she’s with me right now.” 

Yujin’s head tilts at that, curious at the conversation.

“Oh, really? Okay. Sure. Here she is.” I take the phone away from my ear and hand it to Yujin. “They’re asking for you.”

“Who’s they?”

I look at her completely serious. 

“It’s the simp police.”

It takes Yujin a moment to realise what I just said, and then she’s bursting out into laughter. I can’t help but smile a little at the fact that my attempt at cheering her up worked. 

“Don’t laugh! I’m serious!” I swat at her arm playfully. “They want to take you into the station for questioning. I think they finally got my report.” 

“Right, right.” She grabs my phone and places it to her ear, playing along. “Hello? Yes, this is she. Yes, I’m Wonyoung’s wonderful, charming, good looking and fun Romeo. How may I help?” 

“You forgot annoying. Dork.” I return back to working on my lab report. 

She goes quiet again and the library feels still. That’s when I realise, whoops, we might have been a little bit loud. Thankfully there don’t seem to be many people in the library at the moment. Only a few scattered on the other side of the room and they all have headphones in. And from what I can see, one of them was watching a LOONA music video, so I think we’re fine. 

I’m typing a few words when I get the feeling that something is wrong. Well, not WRONG wrong, just I had a feeling that something was happening that I should be aware about. 

I look at the only person who gives me that feeling. 

“What are you doing to my phone?” 

Yujin freezes, her arm outstretched. 

“What does it look like?” She hands my phone back. “I’m taking selfies.” 

“Any particular reason as to why you’re doing it on my phone?” 

“So, you have pictures of me to set as your wallpaper.” 

“No.” 

“And then you can show it to people when they ask you if you have a girlfriend.” 

“No.” 

“Fine, you can show it to people when they ask you about your crush.” 

“No.” 

Yujin giggles. 

“Okay, okay. Use it to set as my contact picture.” She suddenly pouts. “We hang out a lot but you still haven’t given me your number. Granted, I haven’t asked you again-“

“Because you’re busy asking me to be your girlfriend.” 

“And as I should be. Look, Bunny. I just want your number so that I can do the thing.” 

“What thing?” 

“You know? This thing.” Yujin clasps her hands together and stares excitedly at her phone. “When will my crush text me? Will she text me? Am I being too clingy? Please text me, Wonyoung~” 

I pinch my face up into a grimace. Inwardly I thought it was kind of endearing. Outwardly? What the hell is wrong with her?? 

“You’re not doing a very good job at convincing me to give me your number.” 

Yujin sighs dramatically. 

“Fiiiine.” She huffs. “Then, how about I give you mine? So, whenever you need me you can just text me. And I’ll be there.” 

“And when do you think I will ever need you?” 

Yujin smiles at me, but it’s nothing like her other smiles. There’s a slight sadness to her eyes. I’ve only ever seen that once from her and that was when Sojung-nim told her that didn’t want to choose her to be Romeo. 

“You won’t.” Yujin laughs but I don’t feel the humor. “Truth is, I need you more than you need me.”

I soften up upon seeing Yujin’s expression. She’s always been very easy to read, when she’s happy, she’s happy and when she’s tired, she’s tired. Whatever emotion she was feeling, it would show on her face. But, not right now. There’s a depth to her behind those eyes that shows something deeper than just every expression. 

“Fine. I won’t push you.” Yujin is back to her normal self. “I’ll just keep annoying you about it.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?” I raise my eyebrow at her. 

I shake my head and hand her my phone. Her eyes widen once she sees that I have my phone open on the contacts section. 

Man. Why am I surrounded by such manipulative people? First, Liz. Now, Yujin. 

She grins excitedly at me when she hands my phone back, the screen black because she turned off the phone. I suddenly grow suspicious about what she’s saved her contact as. I narrow my eyes at her. 

My Romeo. And then a blue heart. And a dog emoji. 

“You’re a dork.” 

“I prefer that you called me Romeo.” 

“I prefer to call you, idiot.” 

…………………………………..

Ever since that day in the library I’ve been more observant of Yujin. I was curious to see underneath her jock facade. Because there was no way that Ahn Yujin was perfect, regardless of what the rest of the school might say. 

“Looking for me?” I hear a voice from behind me one afternoon while I’m sitting in the cafeteria with Liz. 

Honestly, I was looking for her. Yujin has a game later today and I wanted to see if she was alright. 

“Why do you think that?” 

“Cause you have that look on your face.”

“What look?”

“The look of longing.” Yujin throws the apple in the air and catches it. She wiggles her eyebrows. “The look of love.” 

“Oh, yeah you’re right, actually. It’s cause I was looking for Rei. She looked really pretty this morning.”

Yujin scowls at that, shooting a glare at Rei as if she’s the world’s biggest traitor. Rei, on the other hand, is focused on her Apple. Wait, is she carving a face on it? 

“I’m prettier than her.” Yujin crosses her arms. “And I’m taller! You two wouldn’t work because you’re taller than her. Well only by a little bit but I’m taller than her! And she’s also pretty weak for someone her size. You need someone strong to take care of you.”

“Please, Yujin. Stop flexing your muscles you look like an idiot.” 

“No, you don’t.” Gaeul pipes in. “You look good.” 

“I bet I could sweep you off your feet if you let me.” 

I look between Gaeul and down at myself.

“You mean, her or me?” 

Yujin chuckles. “You, cutie. No offense, Liz. I just have one Juliet on my mind.”

“Oh no no. Don’t apologise, Romeo.”

I don’t even hide how I roll my eyes at how Yujin looks visibly satisfied at the nickname. It’s like I can see her ego inflating. 

“Did you need something Yujin? Or are you just here to be a nuisance?”

“Oh, Wonyoung. Your nicknames for me really makes my heart flutter.” Yujin wipes an imaginary tear from her eye. “Dork. Idiot. Jock. Nuisance. So romantic.” 

“You forgot the most important one.” 

“Hmm? Is it baby? Romeo? Your knight in shining armor?” 

She pauses when she says the last one, looking like she really liked the idea of it. 

“No.” I slap her arm and she reacts dramatically to that, her face contorting in pain. “It’s annoying. Now, tell me what you need so you can leave me alone, Annoying.” 

She shrugs. 

“I just missed my princess.” 

I almost melt at that. Almost. If it weren’t for Gaeul audibly gasping and then letting out a tiny squeak of surprise. 

Of course, this is Liz’s first time seeing me and Ahn Yujin interact with each other. Of course, she knows about our study sessions and definitely knows that we’re playing Romeo and Juliet in the musical. Everyone knew about the last one and if they didn’t then they must live under a rock or is going through a stressful time because nobody could stop talking about how Ahn Yujin was the perfect and most charming Romeo ever. Though, nobody talked about Juliet, thankfully.

“Now, this is the part where I kiss you and leave. Permission to do so?” 

I raise my eyebrow at her. Yujin really was a weird one.

“Um, no?” 

Yujin doesn’t react, just keeping her same smile as if expecting that answer from me. 

“Eh. It was worth a try.” 

I wonder briefly what she would have done if I said yes. Well, duh. Kiss me, of course. But not after freaking out a tiny bit. 

“Liz was right.” Gaeul starts laughing uncontrollably once Yujin finally leaves. It took a bit more banter between us before I straight up told her to leave, feeling the rest of her teammates staring amusedly at the two of us. “You two are sooooo into each other. You can’t stop flirting.” 

“She’s the one into me, actually. I’m not into her that way.” 

“Because you’re Jang Wonyoung.” Gaeul rolls her eyes but she’s giving me a look that shows that she doesn’t believe me. “You literally don’t care about anyone but your favorite unnies and your Mom.” 

“And you! And Liz.” I try to defend myself with a huff.

“And the white female leads from American teen rom-coms.” 

“That’s different, I just think they’re pretty.” 

“And what about Ahn Yujin? Is she pretty?” 

“You’d have to be blind to say no.” 

“And yet, you told her you didn’t find her pretty. Or at least as pretty as Rei.”

“I don’t want to inflate that ego of hers. She’s annoying enough as it is… annoying.”

“Okay… I’ll keep that in mind next time she calls you Bunny. Ooh, or when you guys have to kiss for the first time as Romeo and Juliet and you come rushing over to my house to gush over how her lips are so soft and how you’re falling head over-“

“Shut up, Liz!”

“I’m just saying. I can see where this is going to go.” 

I shake my head and delve back into my food. I open up my planner just to run through my schedule for the day again. Just had to make sure I had no new major assignments or homeworks due. 

Suddenly, Liz sits at our table a little bit perplexed. Even though we’re close we do have our own friendship groups that we sit with and hang out with. Hers being her 5 million theatre friends and mine being… well… just Liz. So, it’s a bit of a surprise to see her abandoning them for us. 

“Wonyoung.” Liz’s usually bright aura nowhere to be found. Though, she still looks cute when she was nervous. Like a puppy. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?” 

Liz looks surprised for a moment, as if she just told me something she wasn’t meant to. Then she shoots me a smile, her nostrils flaring slightly.

“Oh! Cool. Just thought you looked a little down.”

“What’s going on, Liz?”

She eyes her friends. 

“Sometimes I wonder if the people in the theatre forget we’re cousins. But, knowing them, they’re probably saying these things on purpose knowing I’ll relay it to you.”

That sparks my attention.

“Which is?”

She sighs. “I’m not saying they’re jealous. They’re just a little upset that you and Yujin got the lead role when you both have no experience in acting. They don’t have anything against you, though! Or Yujin, in fact. It’s just the idea of you two getting the role, that’s all.”

“You know? I agree with them.” I say. 

Liz nods, not even looking visibly shocked.

“I know you do.” Liz says. “I know you’ve already thought about this.”

“Of course.” I shrug. “They’re very valid. I do think it’s a little unfair for me and Yujin to show up to one rehearsal and suddenly get the leads in the musical. I agree with them. That’s why I’m working extra hard to do my best.”

“Is Yujin, though?”

I can’t help the mad expression I make at that comment.

“Of course she is.” I snap at her, surprising myself in the process. Liz jumps a little at that. “Sorry, it’s just that I always see her studying the script. A lot. I know hard work when I see it and I don’t want it being brushed over.”

“Awww.” Liz gushes. She turns to Liz. “You know? I’ve only ever seen her acting all mad and protective towards ONE person in her life. You know who that is?” 

Gaeul shakes her head. I look between them, at the fact that they’re having a conversation about me while I’m right next to them.

“Me!” Liz laughs gleefully. “You know that meme? My friends call me Sunshine and they call Miss Wonyoung over here the Sunshine protector.” 

I cross my arms, feeling exposed for feeling protective over my cousin.

“Guess she found someone else to protect.” Liz wiggles her eyebrows at me. “You know? Ahn Yujin has the nickname ‘Sunshine Player’ because that girl always has a smile on her face while she plays, no matter what.”

I don’t doubt that. Even while not playing basketball she’s constantly smiling. I bring my eyes over to Yujin who’s sitting with her basketball friends and a couple cheerleaders who seemed to be engrossed in a conversation. Yujin isn’t joining in, just sitting back and listening with a content look. Her resting face is a calm one, her lips slightly upturned and her eyes squinted. She’s definitely got a welcoming presence to her.

As if feeling someone watching her, Yujin turns to meet my gaze and she throws me a wink.

Great. She’s not gonna let that go.

And like always, I’m right. 

………………..

Yujin and her team win their basketball game, unsurprisingly. 

They celebrate for a bit, putting their hands in the middle and throwing it in the air with a yell.

After the initial excitement started settling down and some of her teammates started heading towards the locker room, she jogs towards me. I was packing up my stuff to start leaving already. 

“Bunny!” Yujin says once she’s close enough for me to hear her without having to yell. 

I’m sitting just a few rows into the bleachers so I’m elevated and Yujin has to look up to hold my gaze. On the other side of the gym, Gaeul shoots me a smirk.

“Ugh, I feel a headache coming on.” 

Yujin’s face contorts into concern.

“Are you okay? Do I need to take you to the hospital?” 

Is she serious? It’s just a headache and the first thing she thinks is to take me to the hospital? She’s so dramatic. Overdramatic. 

“It’s okay. It’s just allergies.” I say. “You see, everytime I’m near you I get this massive headache. I think it’s because I’m allergic to simps. Or jocks. Or maybe both. Hell, even just looking at you gives me a headache.” 

Yujin breathes out a sigh of relief when she realises I’m just joking.

“You had me worried there, Bunny.” 

I just laugh, genuinely laugh because Yujin is so fun to mess with. Only because she was so expressive. 

“You did good today, Miss Jock.” I say. Then I pause to try and think back to the game. “At least I think you did? I don’t know a thing about basketball. But I know you shot a lot of goals.” 

Yujin suddenly chuckles and I know it’s something I said. 

She doesn’t say anything. She only looks at me, a soft smile on her face. I feel kind of shy under her gaze.

A few moments later and she’s still not saying anything, so I awkwardly cough. 

“Anyways, did you want something?” 

Yujin shakes her head, visibly being jolted out of her thoughts. 

“Oh! Yes.” Yujin starts playing with her fingers nervously. “I just wanted to say, um… thank you for coming today. I know you don’t care about sports or basketball. I really appreciate it that you came.” 

I’m done for. She is the cutest person in the world. Absolute cutest person ever. 

“You don’t have to come to every game if you get bored.” She says sheepishly, rocking on the balls of her feet. I almost don’t hear her when she mutters, “I just really wanted you at this one.” 

I’m about to question her or at least tell her that it’s no problem. I had fun. I at least understood it when they shot goals and stuff. And I had to admit, the atmosphere of the stadium and everyone around me really hyped me up. 

But, of course, Ahn Yujin always has to say something so… well, Ahn Yujin. 

“So, do you always have a massive headache?” 

“No?” 

“Cause I know you’re constantly looking at me. Like today in the cafeteria. You couldn’t stop staring at me. I know I’m pretty cute, I don’t blame you.” 

Just like I said. I knew she wouldn’t not bring that up. 

“And you’re back to being annoying again. I’m going to go now. Go shower, I can see your sweat from here.” 

“Actually, do you want to go on another date tonight?” Yujin scratches the back of her head. “It’s been awhile since our last date.” 

“Weren’t we just studying in the library yesterday?” 

Yujin’s cheeks redden a little bit. “Well yeah, but I mean like an actual date- Wait. I thought you said studying in the library doesn’t count as a date?” 

It’s my turn to sputter. 

“I- um. Yeah, they don’t. I meant like you know? We hung out yesterday and stuff.” 

Yujin doesn’t look convinced. She just smiles cheekily at me.

“So, all this time you’ve considered us at the library as study dates.” Yujin grins. “That’s very good to hear.” Before I can protest, Yujin interrupts me. “Anyways, do you wanna watch a movie or something? I’m a little tired from the game. Oh! There’s this really nice spot over the hill and we can catch the sunset, if we leave now I can drive us there and we’ll probably be able to catch it!” 

“Slow down, Romeo.” I shake my head. “I didn’t even say yes, yet. But, I have an assignment to work on-” 

“You called me Romeo!” Yujin gasps, holding a hand to her chest, her eyes wide with excitement. “You finally called me Romeo! Yes!” 

“W-wait, I-” 

“There’s my superstar!” 

Yujin turns at the sound of a male voice. I eye the man. Something about him seems oddly familiar. 

“Dad! Hi!” 

He smiles and a dimple pops out. Ah. So, that’s why he’s familiar. He looks a lot like Yujin.

“Great job today, Squirt.” says the man, ruffling Yujin’s hair. I try not to snigger at the nickname. Especially when seeing Yujin’s face redden once the words left his mouth. Definitely storing that nickname into my list. And definitely using it on Yujin when I need to annoy her back. 

“Thanks, Dad.” Yujin straightens herself out once he lets go of her. 

“Nice job going for all those three pointers!” He claps her back. “I don’t know where you got your surge of confidence today but I hope you play like this every week. You were on fire today! That spark is back. Haven’t seen it in awhile. Glad to see my superstar is back.” 

His phone dings suddenly and he quickly flips it out to check who texted him. In a split second, Yujin’s eyes are travelling to me. 

She mouths a word towards my direction. It looks awfully like the word ‘spark’. And then I notice that she’s pointing straight at me. 

I point towards myself with a raised eyebrow, as if to say ‘who? Me?” 

Yujin doesn’t have time to do anything else, because her Dad is looking up from his phone to bring his attention back to her. 

“Hey, you didn’t hear this from me, but…” Yujin’s Dad leans in closer to her with a hushed voice, “the South Korean basketball team are looking to have a boot camp soon for possible players for their U18s team. And guess who might get a spot at that boot camp? 

Yujin’s eyes travel to a man sitting on the side of the court who is writing on a clipboard. He’s well-dressed, suited up in basically a full suit just missing a tie. 

“I’m guessing he liked me?” 

“He could not stop saying stuff like ‘nice’ and making those impressed sounds. I’m telling you, you’ve got this in the bag, Squirt.” 

“Dad.” Yujin whines, her face going red again. “Stop calling me that.” 

Her Dad follows her gaze over to where I’ve been standing the entire time. 

“Sorry, didn’t see you were talking to someone.” Yujin’s Dad nods in my direction. He rests his gaze back onto Yujin. “Wash up and get home as soon as you can. I’m going to try to invite the recruiter over for dinner.” 

“I-I can’t. I’ve actually got really important stuff to do tonight. Like very important. Can’t miss it. Can we take a rain check?” 

Yujin looks like she’s ready to bolt towards the change rooms but her Dad’s voice stops her. 

“Yujin. I know the recruiter sounded impressed by you today but it also doesn’t hurt to invite him for dinner, you know? I told you this. Basketball is more than just the game, Squirt.” He chuckles when Yujin shoots him a look. “Sorry, you know I can’t help the nickname. You’ve always been my little Squirt.” 

I can’t help but quietly snort at that because Ahn Yujin was anything but little. Both in size and in personality. And in ego too. Gosh, she was annoying. 

“Come on. I’m sure this is more important than whatever plans you’ve got on tonight. What do you have to do?” 

“Oh, you know. Like, super important stuff.” Yujin shrugs. Her eyes dart from side to side and she shifts her weight onto one leg and then the other. “I really can’t miss it.” 

“And the important stuff is what?”

“Well, you know… stuff?” 

“Yujin, it’s okay.” I suddenly in causing the father and daughter duo to turn their attention onto me. 

“What’s okay?” Yujin says, a lost expression on her face. 

I clasp my fingers together, scrunching up my shoulders shyly. 

“We can reschedule our date for another day. I know you’re really busy and everything.” I bow my head down, scoffing to myself. “I don’t know what I was thinking. A girl like me could never go on a date with a superstar like you.” 

I lift my gaze to see Yujin staring at me, completely agape. I start to freak out a little bit, does she not understand my plan? 

“You had a date tonight?” Yujin’s Dad chuckles. He claps her on the back. “With a very pretty young lady? Why didn’t you just say so, Yujin!” 

I bring a smile to my face when Yujin’s Dad looks at me. I feel my nose flare out slightly just like Liz’s does. 

“I- um. Hehe?” Yujin says.

“Go on the date.” Yujin’s father ruffles her hair. “With, Miss…” 

“Wonyoung, sir. My name is Wonyoung.” 

Yujin’s father furrows his eyebrows in thought. “Wonyoung? Why does your name sound familiar?” 

“She’s in the musical with me, Dad. Romeo and Juliet? She plays Juliet. Remember, I told you?” 

“Oh! The musical!” Yujin’s Dad laughs way too hard at that. “You’re still doing that? I still can’t believe you got the lead. I bet it was a ploy by your drama teacher to get more people to watch. Who wouldn’t want to watch IVE High’s superstar basketball captain?” 

“Sojung-nim says I’m very charming.” Yujin says. It’s my first time seeing her look so small. 

“Ah, yes yes. A musical, though? I’ve heard you sing. And Squirt, can you even dance?” 

I feel my face darkening with every word Yujin’s Dad says. I don’t even notice my hands on the verge of curling up into a fist. 

“Yujin’s actually really talented.” I say. I look at her and muster up the dreamiest look that I can. “She’s the perfect Romeo. Very charming and she’s the best singer from the basketball team. Her acting wasn’t great at first only because she didn’t really understand what was going on in the script but she’s been practicing and studying her lines a bit more and she’s definitely got a grasp of what’s going on and she’s gotten way better.” 

At the end of my ramble, I shut my mouth quickly. I didn’t expect to speak for that long. It seems like Yujin and her Dad didn’t see it coming too because they both look as surprised as me at my little speech. 

Yujin shakes herself out of her daze. 

“And I’ve been told that me and Wonyoung have very good chemistry.” Yujin grins and looking like the Yujin I’ve come to know. I haven’t seen her since her Dad came.

I force a smile, speaking through my teeth, “Yes. I remember hearing that once or twice during these past few weeks.” 

Yujin’s Dad pats her head. “Don’t let me stop you from having your fun. By all means, have fun singing and dancing and all that.” He places a hand on her shoulder and winks at her. “As long as you keep playing how you did tonight, you can do whatever you want.” 

He lets go of her and gives her a smile and then me. 

“Have fun on your date, you two. Make sure you’re home by 10:30, Yujin. And if Wonyoung has a curfew, make sure you bring her back at least 5 minutes before the curfew.” 

Me and Yujin watch him leave. 

Once he’s out of sight, Yujin lets out a sigh of relief. 

“Thank you.” Yujin says. “You didn’t have to do that. But, I’m really glad you did. I really don’t want to think about basketball any more today.

I shrug, my cheeks hurting from faking those smiles. 

“It’s no problem.” I say. “Anyways, I’ll see you on Monday.” 

“Oh. You’re going to go?” Yujin’s face falls into a pout. She sighs. “Right, you only said we were going on a date to get my Dad off my back. Silly me, thinking you were being serious.” 

Gosh, Ahn Yujin was so annoying. 

Annoyingly cute. 

“Where would we go?” I say. She her head to the side in confusion. “If I was being serious. About going on a date.” 

Yujin’s stomach grumbles. 

“Depends. Do you like fried chicken? And sunsets? Though, I don’t know if we’ll be able to catch it in time.” 

“Guess you just have to shower quickly, then.” I shoo her with my hand. “Go, before I change my mind. I’ll wait for you here.” 

Yujin’s face lights up. 

“I’m going to take the quickest shower you have ever seen! Be right back, Princess!” 

Ahn Yujin is annoying but she is not the type of person who says things she doesn’t mean. I find that out quite quickly when she reemerges from the locker room less than 10 minutes later, frantically running with her hair still wet and her stuff looking half packed. 

………………………….

“You know what’s the best thing about playing basketball?” 

Yujin and I are sitting on the hood of her car, watching as the sun sets onto the city. She’s driven up a mountain to a spot where you can overlook the city and clearly see the horizon. We have just finished eating our fried chicken, the empty boxes on the roof of her car. 

“Making the Varsity team.” Yujin says. “You know why?” 

Her hair is still damp from her shower but it’s drier than before because while we were eating I dried it for her. I couldn’t help it. Her surprised look was totally worth it, too. 

“Because it means you’re one of the best players in the school?” 

Yujin shakes her head. 

“Nope.” She grins cheekily. I know that look. She’s about to do something. 

I’m proven right when she takes off her Varsity jacket, revealing the white hoodie she’s wearing underneath. Then she wraps it around my shoulders and I hold onto it, hugging it around my body. Because I’m cold. Not because it smells nice or anything. 

“The best thing about making the Varsity team is seeing you wearing my Varsity jacket.” 

I roll my eyes and push her with my shoulder. 

She chuckles. Then she stares at me for a few moments and I catch her gaze, raising my eyebrow in question. 

“Sorry. You just look really cute right now. You know, while wearing my jacket and all.” Yujin chuckles, scooting closer to me and resting her hand behind me. She’s sitting cross-legged on the car while I’m sitting with my legs hanging over the front of the car. I subconsciously lean into her shoulder slightly. Again, because I’m cold. 

I hug it a little tighter around me. 

“I like seeing you wearing it.” Yujin’s voice tickles my ear. “I think red really matches you because red is a color that stands out the most against other colors in a crowd and you definitely stand out. At least to me. I mean, you can be doing the most mundane thing in the world like, reading a book in the library. But, I still want to just look at you.” 

My face grows warm. Very very warm. I don’t even bother to try to hide it, not with Yujin sitting so close to me and with her perfume filling my senses. 

“Thank you.” is all I’m able to say. Because what else am I supposed to say when Yujin just told me the cutest and sweetest thing I have heard all day, maybe even all week. Screw it. It was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. 

“I’m serious, you know?” Yujin’s voice drops to a soft murmur. “You just… shine. The first time I ever saw you was when you were on stage auditioning for the musical. They had like the makeshift spotlight on you and all that jazz and I really couldn’t look away even if I tried. And then later I saw you working at a damn frozen yogurt shop in a damn uniform with dingly bells on the hat and I still couldn’t stop looking at you. Even today while I was playing. I’m really glad you came, cause all I saw was you.” 

“Y-Yujin.” I swear even my ears were red at this point. My entire body was probably blushing. Gosh, Ahn Yujin was so annoying. Annoyingly sweet and annoyingly cute and just… so freaking annoying. 

“I really like you, Wonyoung.” 

I know. I want to say. But I don’t. I just take the hand that’s resting on her lap and squeeze it. 

We’re both silent after that. But, not an awkward silence. It was a comfortable silence. Yujin’s frame feels soft but firm against me and I let myself fully lean into her, resting my head against her cheek. I feel her press a soft kiss onto the top of my head. 

We sit like that for who knows how long. Just us, on the hood of her car, her Varsity jacket around my shoulders and her front pressed to my back. 

Finally, I break the silence. 

“You didn’t do your daily ask.” I say, pulling myself away to look at her. The moment I pull away I feel the warmth leave me and I slightly regret doing it. But, seeing her adorable confused face makes it a little worth it. 

“Daily ask of what?” She shifts from her previous position to stretch one of her legs so that she could turn her body to face me. I mirror her position, our knees touching. 

“Of asking me to be your girlfriend.” I say nonchalantly. “Do you not want me to be your girlfriend anymore?” 

Yujin goes wide-eyed. 

“No! I mean yes! I do! I do want to be your girlfriend! And you! To be mine. My girlfriend. Please.”

She’s literally so cute I really can’t help but laugh. 

“It’s not funny.” she whines. I keep laughing at her. “Princess, stop laughing at me.” 

“You’re such a simp.” 

“And for good reason! You’re gorgeous, Wonyoung!”

I place a hand over my mouth while I let my laughter fizzle out into slight giggles. I take a deep breath once I finish laughing. My cheeks are sore from all of the smiling. For the second time this night. 

“Bunny?” 

“Mmm?” 

“Can you be my girlfriend?” 

Her gaze is soft but serious. She has that soft smile of hers. Her resting smile, the one she has when she’s feeling content. 

I playfully cross my arms and turn my body to face the night sky. 

“I don’t know.” I say playfully. “That’s pretty serious stuff. I think I’d like to have more of a trial run before I answer that question.” 

Yujin laughs. “A trial run?” 

“Yeah.” I say. “I think I’m going to need a few more dates with you before I make any decisions. I need to scope out what it would feel like to be your girlfriend. See if it suits my taste.” 

“I see.” Yujin plays along and mirrors my playful tone. “Well, I can definitely offer my services there. And for you, it actually comes with an extra service. It’s a highly special and rare service so you should think about it seriously.”

“You don’t say? And what exactly is this special?” 

I feel Yujin staring at the side of my face so I turn to meet her eyes. “I call it The Juliet Special.” 

Then she leans closer to me, her voice dropping as if she’s about to tell me a secret. 

“It’s a trial run of getting to know how it feels to kiss me.” 

Yujin’s playfulness is gone. I actually see a hint of nervousness in her eyes. 

When I don’t say anything, she smiles sadly and looks away. “It’s okay if you don’t need the extra service, though.” 

I don’t know why, but I suddenly get the feeling to say something completely off topic but has been on my mind for awhile now. 

“Hey Yujin?” I blurt out. “I think you’re doing a really good job in the musical. And I’m really glad that you’re my Romeo. I don’t think I would have been able to play Juliet if I was with anyone else.” 

She’s surprised at first. And then she smiles. And it’s different from other smiles I’ve seen before. It’s a smile that runs deep, a smile that causes her eyes to look at me with a depth that I knew was there, I’ve just never seen it before. 

“It makes me sad, when people doubt you. But, I’m rooting for you. I think that you and I are going to do really well and everyone who ever doubted or questioned you are going to eat their words. Wait, I don’t think that, I’m sure of it. Very sure of it.” 

Yujin moves her hand so that her pinky finger rests on top of mine. 

“Thank you, Wonyoung.” 

………………………………….

It’s 5 minutes to 10pm when Yujin drops me back home. As much as it was nice sitting on the car and staring out onto the city, it was starting to get too cold for us to handle. She lets me wear her jacket the entire ride home, even though she has a heater and she can crank it up. Even when it gets a little too warm I don’t want to take it off. 

We go through some of our lines for the musical on the car ride home. At first, it starts off seriously, but as the car ride progresses our voices start to become wackier as we try to impersonate various celebrities. Yujin seems to enjoy it when Donald Duck says ‘O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?’

Sadly, the car ride has to eventually end and before I know it, Yujin is walking me up to my door. 

“I guess I’ll see you on Monday.” 

“Yeah.” I breathe out, playing with the fabric of her Varsity jacket which I’m still wearing. She’s letting me keep it for the weekend. 

“Cool.” She nods. “Well, if you ever need me, you have my number saved. So, just text me. When you need me.” 

“I will.” I say.

“Goodnight, Bunny.” She holds her arms out for a hug and I gladly accept it. As always, she feels warm and sturdy while hugging me and her familiar scent grows stronger when I bury my face into her neck. 

“Goodnight.” I say. I poke at her shoulder. “Romeo.” 

She smiles satisfactorily at that. And then she gives me one last wave before turning to leave for her car.

I watch Yujin make her way to her sports car and get inside it. There’s something on the tip of my tongue that I want to say, but for some reason I can’t say it. Quickly, I grab my phone, scrolling through the contact list until I found the one that I wanted. My Romeo. 

 

To: My Romeo 

I have a question: is the Juliet special redeemable? 

 

Yujin rolls down the window to shoot me a confused look. Nonetheless, she types back a reply. 

 

From: My Romeo 

For you? Of course

 

I bite my lip, typing in my response. 

 

To: My Romeo 

Can I have that trial run? 

 

I chuckle when Yujin doesn’t bother to reply. Her car door swings open and she runs towards me, her eyes sparkling. 

I let out a little squeak once she reaches me, because she’s wrapping her arms around my waist, pulling me closer to her with a force that I wasn’t expecting. Her face is so close to mine and I can feel her breath around my lips. 

I shyly bite my lip, wrapping two arms around her neck. 

“What if I meant that I wanted the special, later?” I say, laughing at her. 

She groans. 

“Please, Wonyoung. I’m begging you. Please, just let me kiss you.” 

“Okay.” I giggle, my nose brushing hers. “Fine.” 

Take this from me: it’s really fun having the captain of the basketball team, the most sought after person at IVE High School, standing in front of you and begging you to let her kiss you. And it’s nice, because she’s willing to open herself up to you, showing sides of her that others probably don’t even know about. So, now, she’s more than just the sought after charming captain. 

“I want to hear you ask me.” She whispers. 

She’s simply Ahn Yujin. She’s simply just a girl. A girl who furrows her eyebrows every time she highlights words on a book.  A girl who keeps promises and means what she says. A girl who sees the world in color. A girl who just wants to have fun. A girl who didn’t mean to be given the part of Romeo nor did she want it in the first place but she’s willing to work hard at it to prove herself. A girl that I want to kiss, so badly. 

“For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss. O, then, dearest Romeo, let lips do what hands do.” I say. 

Yujin chuckles at that. We had just gone over those lines a few days ago and the two of us had to rack our brains trying to figure out what the hell was going on. 

“Please, kiss me, Yujin.” 

And kiss me, she does. 

………………………….

A/N: 

Lol.

Me: Yes, I must finish TUIM update.

Also me: *writes this all in one sitting* 

Anyways, IVE DEBUT TOMORROW AHHHHHHHHH.

Also, Yujin is so funny skdjfsh. Last year I'm out here like, Yujin would make a good Aladdin. And then she dresses up as Jasmine. And then I'm here writing her as Romeo and she's dressing up as Juliet on KOMS. She's a queen for that. Queen of playing both characters. I probably should start manifesting her as Gabriella so that- *TRAIN DRIVES BY* 

Hope you have a good day!!!