Meet Byun Baekhyun.

 Cute half-moon shaped eyes. Playful and bubbly. Pretty fingers. Squishy and soft features like that of a child’s, balanced off with his sharp jawline. And a voice to die for tucked inside a small masculine frame. One of the school’s famous cuties.

With all that, he can have any girl he wants, isn’t he? Wrong.

 Only because he’s never wanted any. He’s … well, let’s just put it that he’s not interested in girls and has some weird feminine tendencies sometimes. Ever seen a guy who can perfectly put on eyeliner faster than you? Or looks a tad prettier when he puts on a wig?  That’s him.

You’re the only one who knows about this, however. That’s because of the convenient fact that you’re childhood and best of friends. And that you had lived under the same roof. And even slept in the same bed – don’t get the wrong idea, you only sleep, nothing more. His room is just right next to yours. Occasionally, he sneaks into your room and cuddle on cold rainy days. Especially on thunderstorms. The poor guy is afraid of thunder, and you have to go through the trouble of calming him down and cooing him to sleep.

You don’t mind it at all, though. Oh no, you don’t mind all of those unusual things.

 

Because you like him. Or is it love?                                                                     

 

Nevertheless, you’ve always liked him. Unfortunately, he doesn’t like you back. You’re quite sure about that. If he did, then he must’ve made a move or attempt on you a long time ago. But nope, never. He treats you like his sister. And you doubt the treatment’s going to change.

Plus, you never tried to confess. You don’t want to ruin your friendship with the awkwardness. It’s better this way. You just hope that he’ll never get interested in girls. You’d rather he’ll end up gay –which is, sadly, likely more possible to happen at this rate. Selfish, you know, but hey, it’s the truth.

So to sum it up, you’re just an ordinary girl who is one-sidedly in love with one of the famous ulzzang cuties in school who happens to be your best friend and has secretly has dangerous tendencies to shift gender orientations.

 

Good luck to that.

~

 

“I like you.”

 

He blurted out, a shy smile spreading across his face. “ Uhm, will you go out with me?”

You gape at the handsome guy before you, your face displaying an expression beyond shocked.  It had never occurred to you that this particular scene would ever happen in your ordinary and boring life.

“No. Way.” Those were the first words that unknowingly came out of your stupid mouth. The guy’s face obviously fell after hearing this. “No, no, that wasn’t an answer. I mean, are you serious?” You recoil quickly, clarifying things up.

 He let out a relieved sigh and smiled. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure of what I’m asking,” he said. “ So…?” He trails off, waiting for your response.

“Uh… I-I… I’ll think about it.” You stutter, biting your lip.

“Oh… Okay, then.” His face showed a hint of disappointment for  a second. “ Take your time. I guess I’m a little unexpected, aren’t I?” He scratched his head and flipped his hair to the side.

“Yeah…” You look down, trying to hide your blushing face.

“But if I can’t get your answer now, can I at least get your digits?”

You hesitate. You’ve never exchanged numbers with someone you only talked once before.

“Please?“ He pleads, and you finally agree and slowly dictated your number, sounding as calm as possible. He gives you a call after he keys it in.

“Thanks. Anyway, I gotta go. I’m looking forward to your answer.” He winked, and then jogged away towards his friends, who explodes with cheers and high-fives by the time he gets to them.

You were still standing there when they left, stunned, assessing if what just happened was reality or just a hallucination. After a few self-slaps to the face, you conclude that it was reality.

 

Okay.

The school jock, Kim Jongin, just confessed to me…

THE FREAKING SCHOOL JOCK, KIM JONGIN, JUST CONFESSED TO ME?!

TO ME!  You exclaim silently, jumping up and down.

 

Now, now, how did all of this happen? Apparently, it was just another one of those days, minding your own business, constantly daydreaming about Baekhyun, and being your own usual self. You were about to go home, when someone left a note inside your locker saying to proceed to the gym after class. Being the curious girl you are, you went to check what the note was all about and who wrote it.

At your arrival, the basketball team was still practicing, and you watched for a bit, frequently looking about to look for the sender of the note. The next thing you knew, Jongin was already beside you, striking some random topic for a conversation. At first, it was kinda awkward, because you never got to talk properly with any person of the opposite , and you admit, he got you a bit nervous because of his attractiveness. Anyway, after a few minutes of waiting, you got convinced that the note was somewhat just a prank so you proposed to leave first. The moment you stood up, he ends up confessing in the middle of the bleachers, technically in front of his teammates.

 

You stared at the new name in your phonebook. Why didn’t I say yes right away? You wonder. You mean, it’s Kim Jongin. Hundreds of girls must’ve been lining up just to be his girlfriend, and here you are, just some nobody, hesitated? Sighing, you picked up your bag and started to walk away.

You didn’t ponder to much about the question, because you already knew the answer even before you asked it.

 

Because your heart is with Baekhyun.

 

~

 

“Who’s that?” Baekhyun asks in the middle of a movie you’re both watching, noticing your ear to ear grin while your eyes are glued to your cell phone instead of the screen.

“Who? Jongin.” You reply, a wide grin still plastered on your face.

“Jongin? Kim Jongin? Since when were you friends with the school jerk – I mean, jock?” He chews a handful of chips furiously.

You pause and look up at him. “He kinda… confessed to me…” You admit timidly, fidgeting with your phone as you did.

He nearly choked upon hearing this. “M-mwo?” He looked and sounded surprised, still coughing.

“Yeah, why, is it that really unbelievable?” You’re starting to get irritated. He apologized, laughing.

“So he’s your boyfriend now?”

“Nope.”

“Why?”

“Because…”  I’m still in love with you.

“Because what?”

“Uh, because I don’t know him that well yet.” You reasoned.

“Oh.” He fell silent for awhile. “That’s good.” He adds afterwards and focuses back to the screen.

‘That’s good?’ That’s it? You thought, frustrated. Can’t you even disagree a little? To make me a bit happy, at least? Aish. You snatch the bag of chips from him and ate noisily.

Not a few seconds after, your phone lights up, buzzing. It was Jongin calling!

You abruptly stood up from the sofa and distanced yourself from the TV for awhile. You took a deep breath before pressing accept and answering.

“Hello? Oh, hi Jongin.” Ew, did I just sound like a electrified cat? You clear your throat. “Why’d you call?” There, that sounded more natural.

“Oh, nothing, just checking if you were still there. You haven’t replied to my last text.”

“Ah, is that so? I’m sorry, I was just watchi— YA!”

Too late, Baekhyun snatches the phone from your grasp and runs away.

“Oh, good evening Kim Jongin!” Baekhyun imitates your high-pitched voice, and at the same time skillfully dodges the desperately trying-to-get-back-her-phone-through-scampering you. “YAH! BYUN BAEKHYUN GIVE IT BACK!”

“Uh, who’s this? Where’s –”

“Oh, you don’t know me? So shut up boy!” He exclaims in poor English, impishly grinning and giggling while he did the matching hand gesture. You don’t know if you’re going to laugh or get angry at him. You settled with a facepalm. “Nah, just kidding, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Baekhyun.”

“Baekhyun? Wait,who—wha-“

“Yep. Byun Baekhyun. Anyway, you’re interrupting our movie marathon right now, so would you please call back again around tomorrow? Thanks!” He holds out the phone and proudly presses the end call button. He throws the phone back to you, his eyes almost inexistent from his smug face.

You barely caught the phone, a mixture of feelings clouding over your senses all at the same time.

“Are you crazy?! What was that for?” You shoot him an accusing face.

He plopped back to the sofa and continued watching the movie. “I was just teaching him a lesson to not interrupt our only bonding time for the week.”

“But you didn’t have to do it like that!” You exhale a lungful of breath, trying to calm your fury.

“Pssh, he’ll understand if he really likes you.” He nibbles on a chip. “And besides, why are you so worked up about it? He’s the one who confessed, not you. You’re not the one that should impress, he should. You haven’t given him your answer, right? Let him work for it.”

“Ugh, whatever!” You storm upstairs and slam your door shut. You always hate it when he has a point.

 

You called Jongin back that night, repetitively apologizing for what happened earlier. He just laughs it off and didn’t ask any questions, luckily. You said your goodbyes, and slept early for the night.

The next days were like hell. But of course you won’t give off to Baekhyun that it seemed like that to you. You haven’t said any single word to each other since that night. Although playing the ignore game was hard, you’re definitely not gonna lose it. As for Baekhyun… Ha, let’s see until when he’ll last. 

~

“So do you have an answer yet?”

You look down at the untouched coffee you’re swirling for about five minutes already. “I’m still thinking about it.” You look at him apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. No need to rush. And I understand. You haven’t known me that much..” He sipped his coffee. “Anyway, so about the phone call the other night, would you mind if you enlighten me a little?” He grinned.

“Ah! That? That was just my best friend fooling around.” You explain. “I’m sorry again.”

“Best friends? “ He paused. More like enemies as of the moment, you thought. “With… what was his name again, Byun Baekhyun? Wait…” His brows furrow slightly. “Is he that pretty boy? “ You nod in response. Wow, is he that popular?  “I see… So how did you two have that kind of relationship?” He asks, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“Let’s just say that we’re childhood friends. Our parents were best of friends, too, so I think it can’t be avoided.”

 “Oh, I see. Don’t you find it weird, you know, having a guy best friend? Childhood friends and best friends of the opposite are famous for ending up together, you know. I’m worried.” With a playful smile, he takes another sip from his cup.

“Don’t worry, that guy is ga—uhh,, not interested in women. And he doesn’t even take me for one. So I’m safe.” You smile at him. He laughs and smiles back, somewhat contented with your explanation. Long silence follows, only the sound of jazz music in the background filling the quiet atmosphere.

“Uhm…” You start speaking again. Jongin his head up and gazes at you, waiting for your next sentence. “About my answer, will it be okay if I give it to you this Sunday?”

His face lights up a little. “Yeah, sure. How about if we have lunch on that day?”

You look away, pondering on his suggestion. After a while, you finally faced back at him.

 

“Sure, that’ll be nice.”   

 

~

 

It was a rainy Saturday night. It’s already been five days, and somehow you managed to survive the ignore game. And so did Baekhyun.

The soft pitter patter of the rain hitting against your roof accompanied you while lots of things occupy your mind as you lay in bed. It was cold, and the icy weather inevitably draws forth some memories. You remember those rainy days like this, when your door suddenly creaks slowly in the middle of the night, waking you up and making you nervous for a second, thinking that it was some paranormal entity. But your fear subsides when you see Baekhyun’s familiar frame entering your room, wasting no time to scurry towards your bed and hide under your sheets. You can still remember how his heat comforts you when he sleeps soundly right next to you with a peaceful smile on his face. And how your heart beats loudly inside your heart every rainy night.

Oh those good times. How you wish them to be back right now.

Disappointment creeps closer each second that passes. You waited for him, hoping that your door will creak like it always would at every hour. But no, it never happened. Your door never creaked. The night got colder.

You toss and turn, trying every possibility to fall asleep. Not long after, you finally surrender, figuring out that it was useless to force yourself. Ugh, why did it have to rain today?

Tomorrow is Sunday, and you promised Jongin you’d give him an answer. What the hell are you going to give him when you aren’t ready to decide yet? It was foolish of you to set the deadline.

But then again, if you haven’t set it sooner, when’ll you actually answer him? He definitely won’t wait till forever, right?

He’s quite a nice guy, you know, Jongin – and completely handsome, with that. He has a smile that would make girls faint all over the place. He’s not bad at all. He could be a good boyfriend to you.

And then there’s Baekhyun. Of course he won’t be like he’ll always be right now if you get a boyfriend. He’ll distance himself more, giving you space. You’re afraid there will come a time that he’ll never be the same to you again. He’ll stay away completely, and you’ll miss him.

 

So should you say yes or no?

 

You haven’t had the time to decide because before you knew it, you fell asleep.

~

The ceiling was staring at you when you woke up. You sleepily sit up, adjusting from the glaring rays of sunlight that shone through your windows. Your eyes fleet towards the calendar on the wall, blinking blankly at the date today. It was Sunday.

Sunday? What time is it? You drowsily glanced at the clock. It was already 11:00 AM.

Eleven o’clock?! You almost fell out of bed when you realized that you slept for ten whole hours. And that you only have less than hour left to dress up for your lunch date with Jongin. You agreed to meet up at twelve sharp.

You must’ve been a soldier in your past life. Because you managed to be completely dolled up in less than thirty minutes – minus the makeup. You put on a natural look fair enough but the only thing that messed up was your eyeliner. You were gifted with shaky hands, and you haven’t practiced putting it on by yourself because Baekhyun was the one who always put it on for you. Ugh, whatever, it looks fine to me. You grab your bag and went out of your room.

By the time you opened the door, you were greeted with a pajama-clad Baekhyun who appeared to have just gotten up from sleep. He stared at your outfit, and at your face for a long time.

“Ew, your eyeliner is poorly applied. You look scary.” He comments on your look with a disgusted face. That was the first sentence he ever said to you again after the commencement of the ignore game. Ha, told you he can never resist it. “Here, let me fix that for you.” He dragged you back into your room and grabbed your eyeliner before you could protest.

He lets you sit down in front of him and orders you to close your eyes. You stay silent while he skillfully applies the black liquid to your eyes.

You can feel that his face is just inches away from you, judging by the slow breaths that graze against your cheeks. This was one of those small moments that made your heart race fast.

“So, where are you headed to?” He asks.

“I’m going to have lunch with Jongin. I have to give him my answer to his confession.” You reply with eyes still closed, sounding as nonchalant as possible. He stayed silent, surprisingly.

“There. All set.” He says softly.

You slowly open your eyes. Baekhyun’s face was extremely close to yours, about only a few centimeters away. His cute little eyes were staring deeply into yours. He starts to lean closer, and you close your eyes to prepare for what happened next.

A split second after, you felt a quick peck on your cheek. You open your eyes not in surprise, but in grave disappointment. He was already leaning back at a safe distance from you, his eyes looking away.

“Good luck.” He stood up and patted your shoulder, going back to his room with such calmness.

What the heck? You sat there, gaping and furious.

It was so close! So. Damn. Close. Why didn’t he just freakin’ kiss me and get over it? Is he actually gay and that I just momentarily changed his mind right there? Why did he hesitate? UGH, I don’t know. And I won’t care anymore! You thought, awfully agitated, and grabbed your bag, stomping away as quickly as possible out of the house.

 

~

 

“Hey... Hey. Hey!”

You snap away from daze, remembering that you’re actually with Jongin, having lunch with him.

“I’m sorry, I was just thinking about something. What is it?”

“Nothing. It looks like you’re out of it.”

“Oh… I’m sorry again. “ You look at him apologetically. He forgives you with a smile. Awkward silence governs most of the time, except for the occasional clinks and clanks of utensils. Tension and apprehension was unmistakably present in the air.

Thousands of thoughts rammed on your mind as you eat, most of them doubts and contemplations. You thought it hard, and you decided to give him a chance. When you finally had the courage to speak up, you stopped eating.

“Jongin-“

“Uhm-“

You both say at the same time. He clears his throat and says, “Are you going tell it now?”

“Yeah, uhm, I think-“

“Wait! … Before you make a decision… I… I think it’s time that you know something.” He suddenly opens up, shifting uneasily in his seat.”But promise me that you won’t get mad.” He stares at you with a worried expression. What is it now?

“Sure, go ahead.” You grant him your trust.

“Actually… Baekhyun and I are really good friends.” He started. “And, we sorta had a bet on you…”

Surprise left you speechless. “What? When-where-how—“ You calm yourself with a deep breath. “ What bet?”

His eyes were filled with apology. “Well, this… the whole thing was his idea. He bet that if you say yes, he’d win. And if no, he loses. I’m really sorry.” He ruffled his hair.

“Eh?” was all that you managed to respond. You feel the anger slowly build up in you.

What kind of joke is this? He wants you to say yes? He wants you to get a boyfriend that much? Ah, really. Can’t he be more supportive in another manner? Or at least, get rid of you from further confusion on his gender orientation a less offensive way? There’s no way you’re going to let him win at this rate.

You stand up from your seat. “If that’s the case,” you look at him. “then congratulations.” And you leave, as fast as you can. That guy is so dead. You murmur to yourself.

~

“YA BYUN BAEKHYUN! WHERE ARE YOU?” You violently swing the front door open, infuriated with anger. The bastard’s head poke out from the sofa in the living room, disturbed from playing with an Ipad. He scratched his head and stood up.

“Aish, so noisy! I was in the middle of-“

“How dare you bet on me with Jongin!?” You stand in front of him, confronting him with your best enraged face.

“Oh, he told you?” He asks nonchalantly, although surprised at the sudden news.

“Yes he told me! Why did you have to do that? Are you so itched up to get rid of me so that your complete gender preference change wouldn’t be interrupte-“

He plants a kiss on your angry rattling mouth, cutting short your blabbering and melting away all your fury. Damn he knew just how to shut you up. You slowly close your eyes, finally giving in to the kiss. His lips were soft and moved in a mellow manner, like how you’d imagine in one of your countless daydreams about him. You felt light and dizzy the moment he breaks away. You blink anxiously, struggling to help yourself get back from bliss to reality.

“Finally.” He whispers, resting his forehead to yours. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.”

You draw back, recovering from daze. “But you’re gay!” You exclaim.

“What?” He laughs. “Who told you that?”

“Well, I just sorta concluded it on my own…” You look down, embarrassed.  “So… you’re not gay?”

“Would you rather I was?” He joked. You give him a questioning look. “No no, I’m not gay. Seriously? “ He clarifies.

“That’s a relief. So I’d been wrong all along…” You sigh in relief. “Wait, I forgot I’m still mad at you.”

“Oh, come on. Forgive me please?” He groans, still smiling.

“Only if you tell me why you did that.” You put on your best offended face.

“Fine,” he rolls his eyes, “I just wanted to try and see if you’d get moved by the school’s most handsome jock. And luckily, you didn’t.”

“Are you insane? What if I did get moved by him? It’s not that hard, you know.”

“But the point is, you didn’t, right? That makes a huge difference.” He reasoned. You grew silent, actually convinced by his point. “But I’m not going to let that happen, though. And if it happens, I would still take you back.”

Your eyes stared deeply in his. “Why?”

 

“Isn’t it obvious, my silly little best friend?” He says playfully.

 

 

“I love you.”