A/N: Thank you all so much for your gratulations! Now that high school is over, I FEEL LIKE A FREE BRID!
Enjoy chapter 35 :) I'm so proud of Jin Ah here! 

”JB…” your voice cracked after being quiet for some time. You almost whispered after him, partly because of his very sad face and partly because you were afraid. Afraid of how this situation might end.  

Yongguk was silent too and watched JB’s reaction. Seeing JB’s sad expression on his face made you feel even worse and all of the sudden you didn’t feel well either. Suddenly, it was as time went by really slowly and everything around you moved in slow-motion. The nice summer night atmosphere wasn’t that nice anymore. You slowly stood on your feet and called after him once more. He threw you one glance and nodded weakly before picking up his stuff and quickly leaving. You sighed deeply from his behavior and rubbed your temples.

This needs to stop.

You stood there for a couple of minutes, thinking of a way to clear things up between you and him. You miss him very much and it hurts you whenever he ignores you. People that passed by gave you weird looks for blocking their way but you couldn’t care less. You stood there in one spot, holding your upper arm with your other hand and giving it a squeeze while watching JB disappear behind the next corner.

“Jin Ah…” Yongguk’s calm voice called after you when he realized that you started to drift off into your own thoughts. “He needs some more time, baby.”

You didn’t turn around to look at him but instead he stood from the bench and hugged you from behind. He rested his head on your shoulder while looking at the same direction as you. “I’m sorry if everything is my fault but he should have known better.”

At that, you shook your head with closed eyes, “That doesn’t make sense, Yongguk. People can’t control their feelings.”

“But they can prevent from getting those feelings from the beginning.”

“What are you talking about?” finally you turned your head to the right just to have his face inches away from yours. You searched for his eyes to find an explanation to why he said what he said, expecting to sense hatred and jealousy but didn’t find any of them. Surprisingly, he was calmer than expected and that is something you have noticed these couple of days. Whenever the two of you are alone, Yongguk turns into a whole other person.

“I think everyone knew that I was the first guy to lay my eyes on you and with that they couldn’t do anything to or with you,” he explained with a hint of mocking in his voice.

You let out a deep breath from your nose and shook your head once again before pushing his head off of your shoulder. “Here we go again...”

“But I’m serious!” he protested, “JB should have known that you would be mine sooner or later.”

“Just shut up,” you rolled your eyes and started walking back towards the skatepark.

“Where are you going?” you heard him from behind.

“To meet the others at the festival.”

***

“And how is the weather?” the interview between you and your mother continued.

“Fine. Typical summer weather I guess,” you explained to your mother, who was at the other end of the line.

She called you this morning just to check up on you and see how everything goes. As a mother, she even has the right to do it whenever she wanted and you knew that. Especially after trying to convince her to let you go with the others.

“Well, nice to know then. One thing less to worry about,” she laughed. “Otherwise, how does it feel to be in the US again? Did you miss it?”

“It feels good to be here again. Of course I missed it mom, although it’s only been a couple of months since we moved.”

“I understand. So when does the festival end?”

You stood from your bed and walked over to your bag to find a decent T-shirt to wear for today’s competition. You rested your phone between your shoulder and head and started searching.

“In two days, which are also the toughest two days of the whole competition. And to be honest I don’t think I will make it today, the participants that are left are really good.”

“Aigo, is it really that important to win?” your mother questioned the competition and you knew that she was originally against this whole thing.

“No, actually not,” you smiled after remembering how much fun you have had these days, “It’s just a trip for fun.”

“I see,” you could hear her smiled through the phone, “Well, I won’t bother you anymore. Call me when you have time okay?”

“Yes, mom. Tell dad I said hi.”

“I will. Have fun today!”

“I will. Bye mom!”

“Bye.”

And with that, you ended the call just to return back to your bag and pick out a t-shirt to wear.

***

 

Jongup didn’t give up. Although he had a not-so-good start, he tried to collect points on the details and small tricks he did in-between the ramps. The guy he was competing against was really good and you could tell that skateboarding was a thing he was all too familiar with.

They went from ramp to ramp while you and you friends nervously watched them from aside. Seeing how much he had to give his best, you started to feel nervous because you would be the next one to compete.

“I don’t think he can make it,” Youngjae broke the silence that surrounded the group.

You turned to him and gave him a death glare, “Just because you are out doesn’t mean you should lose hope in your friend!”

“No, I didn’t mean like that!” he widened his eyes in protest, “The other guy is just really good.”

“Youngjae, save it,” you put your hand up and turned back towards the ramp Jongup was on.

“I really hope he can make it,” Zelo bit on his thump in uneasiness.

“Let’s just wait and see,” Amber told him and tried to keep calm but you could tell that she was nervous too because she would be competing right after you.

Jongup and the other guy skated on the last ramp before doing a freestyle trick to land in front of the judges. Everyone in the skatepark applauded and screamed after their favorite skater.

“Go, Jongup!” Himchan shouted from your spot earning a glare from Luna who was right beside him.

“You could have warned, you know?” she put her hands on her ears and watched Jongup.

He on the other hand didn’t walk towards you yet. He stood on the same spot and waited for the results from there and you could understand why. The judges started off with the other guy and gave him lots of nines and tens which put him very high up on the list of the best skaters. When it was Jongup’s turn, you saw him clench his skateboard before the judges typed their points which showed up on the huge screen. Jongup too, received lots of nines and even a couple of tens but two of the judges only gave him an eight which decreased his average score. He was out.

“Oh man!” Daehyun was the first one to react to the results.

Everyone waited for Jongup to return which he did after a while. When he walked up to you, Yongguk was the first one to give him a hug.

“You were great, Jongup-ah.”

“Thanks hyung,” his typical bright smile didn’t leave his face.

“Jin Ah it’s your turn,” Luna pushed you forward.

“Alright, alright,” you turned towards Jongup, “Great job Jongup, really.”

He laughed and did a thumbs up, “Go show them your skills, Jin Ah-yah.”

You picked up your skateboard and nodded towards your friends before skating away. When you were in front of the area where you were about to compete, you felt a tap on your shoulder and turned around. Yongguk was holding his chest with one hand while trying to steady his breathing. He ran after you.

“What are you doing here?” you looked at him horrified.

“You need a good luck kiss,” he said and didn’t wait a second longer before grabbing your face with both of his hands and leaning in.

He gave you a strong peak on your lips before turning it into a long and tender kiss. He caressed your one cheek with his thumb while your lips moved perfectly in sync with each other. You couldn’t feel your legs anymore which was so not good at the moments considering the fact that you have to use them in a minute. But… you didn’t mind at all because it was worth it.

“Excuse me, miss,” one of the guards broke your lovely moment,” It’s time for you to climb on the ramp.”

You looked at him, “Oh right, sorry,” you answered in the same language as the man spoke. “I need to go now,” you said to Yongguk, who was still looking at your lips. “Yongguk!”

“Oh, yeah,” he laughed and looked into your eyes, “Good luck up there. I believe in you,” he gave you a last peak on your lips before running away to the others.

***

Perfect turns, clean flips, straight directions… you made sure to do everything perfectly. You and the girl you were competing against were pretty much at the same level in skating so it was even harder to prove the judges that you could be better. Everything went well, and both of you did well on all the stations until the last one which was a very high ramp.

The girl was first on and she started right away. She pushed her skateboard down the ramp and started skating up and down with turns and flips in-between. She went on like that for a while before finishing off everything nicely by grabbing the cope with one hand and her skateboard with the other hand and making a turnaround herself.

You gulped down your saliva that gathered in your mouth before looking around in hope to find your friends in the crowd. You needed to see their faces as moral support. Luckily you saw them stand further away with worried expressions. The crowd didn’t applaud after the girl was done because you were supposed to continue after her right away, which you didn’t. Looking down the ramp, you could feel your heartbeat speed up and your palms start to sweat.
 

Your nightmare was being turned into reality. One of the judges spoke in the microphone and told you to go on but your legs felt numb. Your body refused to work with you, especially at that height. You threw a glance towards your friends and that’s when you saw Yongguk run through the crowd and up to the ramp.

“Come on, Jin! You can do it. Do as I taught you,” he shouted so you could hear him.

You took a deep breath and turned your focus on the ramp again. You let your mind go back all the way to the night when Yongguk explained how to skate on higher ramps.

First rule… never bend over the cope. You straightened your back and decided not to look down yet.
Second rule… relax. You inhaled deeply and shook your body a little to relax your muscles.
Third rule… bend down in the right way to get control of your balance. You remembered the position Yongguk’s showed you and decided to go after it. You trusted his skills.
Lastly, hold your legs steady and bow them after the ramp.

The judge gave you another warning but you didn’t care. This wasn’t about winning the competition anymore, but winning over something else. Your fear of heights.

You followed all Yongguk’s instructions and although your heart was beating crazier than ever before in your life, you still wanted to try this out one last time. You pushed your body down and the speed changed drastically. You held your legs steady and tried to follow the ramp. The stubborn you inside of you didn’t want to give up and wanted to accomplish this once and for all. The crowd that watched you gave you even more motivation.
And in no time, you were on the other side of the ramp.

It was only then that the crowd applauded for both you and your opponent. You jumped off the ramp and run into Yongguk’s arm who gave you a very tight hug.

“I’m so proud of you,” he spoke into your hair.

The adrenaline didn’t leave your body yet so your breathing was still uneven.

“Yongguk, I made it!” you said when reality hit you.

“I know baby, I know.”

***

At the end of the day, you were surely out of the competition because it took too long before you skated down the ramp and you didn’t do anything special except to skate up and down once. It wasn’t anything special but for you it was like ten of your three-sixty flips.

Unfortunately Amber was out of the competition as well, making Yongguk, Himchan and Zelo be the only ones in your group that are still in.

“Three out of our friends are out but it was still one of the best days here,” commented Zelo. “Noona, you were amazing. I look up to you!”

“Stop it, Zelo,” you waved him off.

“No seriously! You didn’t give up in the end,” he smiled widely.

“That is my girl,” said Yongguk and put and arm around your shoulder.

Everyone walked back to the hotel to shower and take it easy. Tonight you could do whatever you wanted and some of your friends already decided to go swim in the hotel’s pool or go on a date, like Himchan and Luna.

Yongguk and you couldn’t join that plan because his father called him a while ago, telling him not to plan anything because he wanted to spend some time with him instead.

While everyone was on their rooms preparing for whatever they had planned, you wanted to sneak into Yongguk’s room and see him before he takes off. You changed into comfortable clothes before heading towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Amber asked from the bathroom.

“Be right back,” and with that you left the room.

Yongguk was the only one who had a single room. He didn’t share it with anyone which was quite nice. You knocked on the door but no one answered so you decided to open it and casually enter it.

He wasn’t in the room but the open water from the bathroom gave him away. You walked over to his bed and took a seat while waiting for him to come out. Just minutes after you entered the room, Yongguk came out of the bathroom.

He widened his eyes at the sight of you sitting on his bed, but it was soon replaced with a huge grin.

“What?” you asked with a nod.

“Nothing,” he arched his eyebrows and walked up to you. “What are you doing here?” the smile didn’t leave his face.

“Well, if you don’t want me to be h-“

“No! I was just kidding. Of course I want you to be here but can’t you come by a little bit later tonight instead?”

You shook your head at his silly thoughts and jokingly hit his shoulder.

“Where is your dad taking you?” you asked while he prepared himself.

“A restaurant. He wants me to meet his new wife,” you saw him roll his eyes.

“Are-are you okay with it?” you asked gently not knowing what he is thinking or feeling about this.

“I don’t care,” he said and looked at you, “It’s been a long time so yeah, his life. I will just go and meet her if he that makes him happy.”

You nodded at his answer, “You’re such a good son.”

“I’m trying but he needs to know that there are some lines he can’t cross.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know… I just have a feeling that he is trying too hard,” he shrugged once and picked up his phone before slowly walking over to the door. “I have to go now. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” you scratched your head and followed him, “I think I will go and visit JR and try to talk to JB.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I have nothing to lose,” you laughed and walked past him.

“Okay then, see you later?”

“Maybe,” you kissed him on the cheek and run down the lobby.

***

Yongguk’s P.O.V

Park Subin. The woman that took away my father from me and my mother. The woman that didn’t think of the consequences when seducing my father. The woman that was now sitting in front of me in this fancy restaurant.

I didn’t like the idea of meeting her at all but my father wanted me to meet the woman that is taking care of him and giving him the love that he couldn’t get from me. I did this for him and nothing else. If this meeting makes him happy than I don’t mind spending a couple of boring hours to satisfy him.

Subin was nice and not as I expected her to be. She was beautiful and really talkative. But the fact that my father left me and my mother because of her, ruined everything.

“Are you enjoying your meal Yongguk?” she tried to keep the conversation going.

“Yes,” I answered simply and continued on eating.

My father cleared his throat to get my attention and when I looked at him, he mentioned with his eyes to me to talk to her. I secretly rolled my eyes and turned towards her.

“I heard that you are attending this year’s skating festival?” she asked before I could say anything else.

The question was really stupid considering the fact that I’m here right now because of the festival but I didn’t say anything about that and just played along.

“Yes, I’m actually one of the last ones now.”

“That is great,” she nodded with a smile,” My brother’s children are here too! My nephew is also in the same round as you I think.”

“Nice,” I just nodded and turned my attention to my plate again.

“Speaking of them..” she continued, “I invited my niece to this dinner if it is okay? I thought that Yongguk maybe wanted someone in his age to be with us.”

My father turned to her with a huge grin, clearly thankful to her for saving this awkward moment, “So kind of you Subin.”

“Is it okay with you, Yongguk?” she ignored my father’s comment and waited for me to answer.

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t mind,” I waved with my fork.

“Great,” she nodded and looked forwards, which was behind my back, “Gyuri, you can join us now!”

I shook my head from the name that I misheard. “What did you say her name was?” I asked Subin once she turned to the table again.

“Gyuri, Park Gyuri.”

And just then I felt a presence stand right next to me “Hello, Yongguk oppa.”