Just like the day before we made our way outside to the spot where I had run into their group. An overwhelming feeling of worry was churning in the pit of my stomach already and that feeling only increased the closer we got. Would the others really be alright with me being there as long as Daehyun accepted me? Or would they laugh at me for even thinking that I was privileged enough to spend time with them?

We turned the corner and the first thing I saw was Himchan straddling the one with the scary voice with his tongue shoved down his throat. I let out a small squawk and quickly looked away, feeling my face flush. Their public display of affection didn't seem to bother Daehyun at all, he just grinned as he pulled me along by the arm, nudging Himchan when we passed by them. "So you finally got the balls to proclaim your love, huh?"

Himchan detached his face from Yongguk's for long enough to glare at the younger and flip him off. When his gaze shifted to look at me a slow smile spread on his face and he looked at the younger male again. "You too, man," he taunted, inclining his head in my direction. Daehyun's smile faded right away, replaced by a scowl. Himchan appeared to be unfazed. He just sniggered.

The male he was straddling didn't seem to be okay with Himchan's decision to not kiss him any longer because he made the other turn his head so they could mesh their lips together again. Daehyun rolled his eyes and dragged me over to one of the other tables, one that was already occupied by the girls. I greeted them shyly before sitting down next to Daehyun. Then I tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked in a quiet tone. He merely grimaced and he didn't respond.

Since he obviously didn't want to answer, the purple-haired girl took it upon herself to do it for him instead. "Oh, Daehyunnie here has had a crush on you for months," she told me with a grin. My heartbeat immediately started racing at the sound of those words. I took to watching Daehyun's expression, but he was keeping a straight face so he was hard to read.

"It's true," the blonde girl chimed in, nodding to herself in confirmation. "He was practically begging Himchan to help him out because he didn't know how to just go ahead and confess to you. It was strangely adorable even though it was kind of pathetic to see him grovel like that. He must really like you."

At this Daehyun's demeanor changed drastically as if all of his defenses broke down all at once. His cheeks were flushed and he was clenching his fists. "D-don't listen to them, they have n-no idea what they're talking about," he mumbled without meeting my gaze. It seemed very unlike him to blush and stutter the way he was at the moment. I chose not to question him about it.

Not until school was over for the day and we were on our way home, anyway. He had offered to walk me home again and I had gladly accepted. I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. Our fingers were intertwined as we walked next to each other along the sidewalk much like the day before. It was just the two of us at this point and I figured that he would be more willing to provide me with answers that way. Still it took a lot of time for me to build up the courage to actually ask: "What did they mean when they said you had a crush on me for months?"

I could feel the way the question made him jerk, but I didn't let go of his hand and I didn't allow him to pull away. "That's... that's not important," he said quickly, avoiding my gaze.

"It is to me," I muttered. That didn't seem to have any particular effect on him. I gave his hand a squeeze to get his attention. "Daehyun, I want to know. Tell me... please?" He glared at me and I did my best not to cower, shooting him a hesitant smile instead. "Please?"

He exhaled harshly. "Fine. Fine! Whatever. Yeah, I like you. Actually I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you. There. I said it. Are you happy now?" Letting out a huff he tugged his hand out of my grip so he could cross his arms over his chest instead. He was scowling. I could feel my heartbeat start to race again, in that way that made me instantly queasy. There was no way this could be true. This all had to be an elaborate prank, just yet another way to torment me. To get my hopes up and then bring me down. There was no way Jung Daehyun could possibly be in love with someone like me.

I didn't answer him and we walked the rest of the way in silence. He went with me all the way to the front door again. Here I turned to face him, rubbing my arm awkwardly. "Thank you for taking me home," I muttered. I was kind of afraid that he would be mad at me, but it didn't seem that way. He seemed to have cooled down by then.

"Any time," he said with a smile. He reached out to brush my bangs away from my face and he kept his hand there, resting his palm against my cheek as he let his thumb rub circles on my skin. He was looking me directly in the eye and even though it was hard for me not to look away I held his gaze. I still had to get used to this. "You look really cute today."

"You already said that," I responded automatically. To be honest I didn't mind the compliments.

"Well, I wanted to say it out loud as well. And it's the truth."

I could feel my own face begin to heat up again. He was being so good to me and I wasn't sure why but I wasn't about to test my luck. I just wanted to bask in it while I had the chance. "Do you want to come inside?" I heard myself offering before I could stop my mouth from running. "We-we could watch some movies, maybe, and... stuff..."

"Sure," he said and I was already starting to panic before he had even set foot inside my house.

"Oh, but my mother is home so it's alright if you say no, if you're not ready to meet her yet, it's-"

"I said 'sure'," he repeated with a tone of finality. I nodded shakily and turned around to unlock the door, letting out an inaudible sigh once I was facing away from him.

I called out for my moth