Today Jong In had made up his mind. Even as he pulled on the thin blue sweater, he was picturing the scene that would take place after he confessed to her. An excited grin made its way onto his face as he imagined her reaction, she would probably be smiling shyly as he told her how he felt. He laughed at himself as he stepped out of his room to grab his phone.

"Whoah where are you heading off to so happily?" Baekhyun asked holding a piece of toast between his teeth and still in pajamas.

"I'm going to tell Sun Ae about the letters. I've made up my mind, in a few hours I'm probably gonna have a girlfriend!" He said with a laugh as he unlocked his phone and ran down his contacts.

"What are you gonna do if she turns you down?" Baekhyun teased taking another bit of toast nonchalantly.

"Why would she?" Jong In asked genuinely unable to see how that would be a possibility. He wasn't oblivious to the look in her eyes or the way her eyes sparkled around him. He was sure he wasn't just imagining it.

"I'm kidding stupid" Baekhyun said with a shake of his head not meaning to psych out his friend. He was sure she would say yes too if her reaction in the elevator was any indication to how much she liked Jong In.

~~~~~~

She turned over only to feel her back cry out in pain. She opened her eyes only to find that she had fallen asleep on the ground. With a groan of pain she stood up and slowly staggered towards the bathroom to shower. Right before she got in her phone rang and she answered it without a second thought.

“I want to invite you out for lunch” An excited voice said from the other end.

Sun Ae frowned in confusion as she glanced at her caller ID only to find out it was Jong In. She was going to instantly agree, when she thought about last night and Taemin.

“…It’s really ok. You don’t have to do that” She answered quietly leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom. Where was a pause button on life when you needed it?

“But I want to. Think of it as a payback for the couch. I really won’t give up. Lunch is you getting out of it easy” He joked and even though she had a million and one problems to deal with he still made her laugh lightly. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad getting out for a few hours.

“Um… ok come by around 11?” She asked figuring she had about an hour.

“Sounds good I’ll be there then. Bye!” Jong In said quickly, not giving her a chance to rethink the choice and hung up.

She shook her head at his determination and got in the shower, she really didn’t have that much time. The hour seemed to fly past as she got ready and when the door rang she raced to it, her body all excited for something she wasn’t sure she should be. It wasn’t technically a date, just a thank you lunch appointment. That’s right, that’s all it was she comforted herself.

“Hi” she said simply as he stood on the other side, all smiles and good looks.

“Hi” He replied easily trying not to let his eagerness show.

“Come in. I just have to get my cell phone and my bag and I’ll be ready to go” She said with a smile as she stepped aside and let him walk in. He grinned as he watched her race off to her room and headed to the broken down couch. He stopped as he saw a small shoebox with a stack of letters beside it.

His eyes softened as he bent down and picked one up. His hands almost seemed to tremble in excitement as he opened it and recognized his own handwriting. She had been reading his letters again he realized happily. He heard her come out of her room and quickly place the letter back on the ground.

“Ok I’m ready” She said with a grin.

“That’s great! By the way… what are these?” He said pointing innocently to the letters.

“N-nothing! They’re bills!” She stammered as she ran to them and cursed her stupidity of leaving them there, “I’ll go put them away now”

He kept smiling as he watched her run into her room, letters in hand. If there had been any doubts in his mind from before they were completely gone by now. Jong In waited patiently as he heard a loud clatter from her room and she stepped out with a fierce blush on her face. Right before she stepped out though he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. There was a bag peeking out from the kitchen counter to the left. He noted the bright lime green lining on the edge that peeked out and something about it was so very familiar... It looked like a man's bag he noted, but quickly pushed the thought away. That made no sense.

"Sorry I uh... should we go?" She said grabbing her bag and trying not to feel too embarrassed. He must think she's a psycho she thought nervously.

"Yeah, let's go" He said as they stepped out and right before she closed the door he snuck another glance at the bag, where had he seen it before.

They walked out of the apartment building and Sun Ae squinted as the sun glowed much brighter than she had expected. It was hot and she considered running back upstairs for a pair of sunglasses when Jong In stepped up besides her and lifted an arm, shielding her from the bright sun and he moved to her other side so that she would be in his shadow as they walked. His thoughtfulness made her insides flutter and her pulse quickened as she glanced up at him shyly. The sun shone brightly behind him, encasing him in a halo that made his hair shine in all sorts of shades of copper and his smile only perfected this image.

She suddenly wished she had her camera on her. Or at least something more efficient than human memory to capture this moment in.

“So where are we going?” She asked as she followed his lead.

“A small coffeehouse I really love. It’s a bit shabby and kind of empty most of the time, but I promise it’s the best!” He said confidently, “I’m really happy you agreed to come” He added looking straight ahead.

“Ah… well it’s just lunch so I couldn’t really say no” She said and instantly regretted her words when she heard his nervous laugh. Just lunch? Why did she even have to add that part?! She glanced down at the concrete as they continued walking, falling into a quiet silence that neither of them really knew how to continue.

Jong In suddenly stopped. She glanced around her wondering why and looked at him curiously. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead shook his head and grabbed her hand, pulling her across the street. She stumbled forward almost losing her balance as she glanced at their hands. He was just holding her hand simply to make her follow him she told herself even though her heart hammered in her chest and she couldn’t help, but notice how perfectly her hand seemed to fit with his. He held it firmly as they crossed the street and stopped at a small stand. Sun Ae looked at the sign and at the elderly woman who was selling fresh flowers.

“I’d like some of these and these… and those too please” Jong In said confidently as he pointed to an array of brightly colored flowers.

Sun Ae glanced at him as she watched the elderly woman reach for the prettiest flowers and arrange them neatly into a small bouquet. She idly wondered what was going on and the fact that he was still holding onto her hand did not go unnoticed.

“A man that stops to buy you flowers when he sees them, it means he’s always thinking about you” She said kindly to Sun Ae as she tied the flowers together with a ribbon, “You’ve got a caring boyfriend miss”

Boyfriend

The word seemed to echo loudly in Sun Ae’s mind. She glanced at Jong In who merely smiled proudly as he handed the woman money and took the bouquet. That word didn’t hold good memories for her, but looking at him made her temporarily wonder if he could change that. It had to be a good sign that she just had to smile every time he did right? When he handed the flowers to her happily she knew she couldn’t deny that this was a date any longer and perhaps she had known this all along. This was why her hands hand shaken as she put on her clothes she noticed holding onto the bouquet tightly, their sweet floral scent dispersing gently around them.

“Do you like them?” He asked, uncertainty trickling in as he watched her dazed expression. Should he have asked her which flowers she preferred first?

“Of course!” Sun Ae answered quickly, coming back from her thoughts, “I love them” She answered gently.

He grinned and pulled her along, “Now come on, there is some amazing coffee I want you to try!”

Jong In hadn’t been lying she realized as she took another bite of the large muffin she had ordered and then a sip of the amazing coffee she had ordered. She glanced around the coffee shop. He was right it was shabby, but in a really cozy manner. Instead of the sleek style most places had opted for this one resembled the living room at a friend’s house more. There was soft music playing in the background and you couldn’t help, but feel comfortable as soon as you took a seat.

The table cloth was frayed slightly at the edges, but its bright yellow color brought life to the place. There was no particular theme, but it was charming in its own right and Sun Ae wondered how she could have missed out on such a wonderful place all this time.

“Earlier today, those letters on the floor were the ones I sent you?” He asked with a bright smile on his face as she completely froze, coffee cup in hand.

Oh crap. Sun Ae raised her eyes up to meet his playful ones and slowly lowered the warm cup of coffee. It clattered quietly as the white cup landed on the small plate and a single drop of coffee spilled  over.

“You knew it was me?” She asked quietly as she brought her hands into her lap and nervously twisted her fingers.

“I figured it out before I went to see you the first time. Why didn’t you tell me when you saw me?”

“It sounds a little weird to go up to some guy who I’ve never really met and say things like hey, I used to write you letters before. I’m just gonna put that out there and make things awkward in case you don’t really like me” She said with a small laugh disguising the silent panicky undertone.

 “But I do like you” He said plainly and she stared at him in surprise.

She wasn't ready she realized. She could just tell. She saw the excitement in his eyes and she wasn't ready for what he was saying because it was so complicated and things like this shouldn't be. Not if they were meant to be she thought anyways. She blinked and tried to look away, but failed miserably because he was just so alluring. She felt like a moth being drawn to some kind of uncontrollable fire. Sun Ae fought to gain her sense back and as she remembered Taemin that's exactly what she did. Why did he have to come see her last night? Why did he have to say those things and bring the past back up? Even now despite all the nice and fluttery type of feelings she couldn’t deny she had for Jong In, they were muffled by the look of pain on Taemin’s face last night.

Guilt was a terrible thing. Especially when she had no reason to feel it.

Of all people for him to be friends with it had to be the one guy she had begun to like in a long time. Not only was it already complicated, but this made it ten times worse. No, a hundred times worse she decided. Her hands trembled in her lap as she felt a dull pressure build up in her eyes. Sun Ae wanted to explain to him everything that had happened with Taemin, but it wouldn’t change anything she decided miserably.

Instead, she shook her head and took a deep breath.

"I don't like you like that" She lied quietly, “I’m sorry, I have to go” She whispered as she stood up.

She hesitated as she looked at the way Jong In had frozen up. All the happiness from before had been drained from him and instead he sat motionless staring at her empty seat. She clenched her fists to stop herself from doing anything else and told herself it was for the best. She was saving them both a world of hurt.

"That's a lie" He said whispered after she was gone. He looked up and he wondered how much time he had let pass.

He shook himself and placed money on the table as he knocked his chair back and grabbed the flowers he had bought for her. He remembered the smile on her face when he had held her hand, when he had bought those flowers. Whatever the reason was for not wanting to date him it wasn’t that she didn’t feel anything for him. He was sure of it. It might have been his stubbornness, but he wasn’t going to let this go like this he decided running out of the coffee shop. If she really wanted him to leave her alone he wanted to know why she wasn’t willing to even give him a chance.

Sun Ae stepped back into her small and empty apartment and locked the door wishing she could do the same with everything she felt. She let a sigh escape her as her purse fell to the ground with a thump and she ran a hand through her hair. She didn’t want to think. If she thought about it she would cry she knew and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

Water. She needed water she decided rushing to the sink.

Her foot tangled up in something by the counter and she fell to the ground. Sun Ae moaned in pain as she pushed herself into a sitting position and gently touched the red and bloody scraped knee she now had. Frustration lit up inside of her as she glared at the bag she had tripped over. She frowned, not recognizing it before she realized it was Taemin’s. He must’ve left it from the night before. Her frustration crumbled into disappointment directed at herself.

As tears pricked the back of her eyes she grabbed the bag and stood up. Ignoring the pain in her knee she walked angrily to her room. She slammed open her closet doors and pushed all the clothes aside. Dresses slid off hangers and pooled on the floor as she reached for the silver shoebox at the back. Memories had been stuffed into the small cardboard container and she hated them. She hated all the love letters inside, the ring, the necklace, the pressed flowers, and most of all the photographs. She hated all of them from the deepest pit of her being because if none of those things had happened then it would’ve never hurt this bad!

The phone ringed and she pulled it out thoughtlessly from her pocket. She scoffed as she saw the number on the caller ID. The smart thing would’ve been to ignore the call.

“I’m sorry about yesterday” Taemin began and she clenched her jaw at the apologetic tone in his voice.

“I never asked you why” She ended up saying, all the curses and insults she had planned giving way to the question that had haunted her for so long.

“… I was worried about you” He started, instantly knowing what she meant, “Back then everything was so new. You looked so unhappy… I couldn’t force you to stay besides me” He explained shakily, something had happened. This was it.

“I hate you” She confessed her voice shaking, “I hate you so much for doing that and then worming your way back into my life. I want you to take all your back I don’t want it. I don’t want to see any part of you in my house again. I want to move on” She said grasping the phone tightly.

“W-wait, move on? No, listen you don’t have to move on. We can start over again I’m sorry if last night made things uncomfortable, but now all we need to do is talk! I can explain everything that happened. I never really—“ He began before a loud banging on the door made them both stop.

Sun Ae stood still as she held her breath.

“It’s me! It’s Jong In! Can we please talk?” A loud voice pleaded from the other side of the front door.

Taemin sat up, not even noticing the way the IV tugged at his arm and instead trying to tell himself that he didn’t hear Jong In’s voice in the background.

“Sun Ae… don’t hang up. Just stay quiet, stay quiet until he leaves” Taemin begged, ignoring the spell of dizziness that came over him as he ripped the IV from his arm and staggered off of the hospital bed.

“I don't want more of your excuses" She said quietly, "Don't ever tell Jong In about us. I'm going to forget that part of my life”

“Sun Ae listen to me, you can’t open that door for him because what we have isn’t over. You care enough to hate me and that’s not enough to move on. I’m his best friend and I’m yours too why can’t you see you’re just going to complicate our relationship?!”

He waited, but all he got was the dial tone from the other side. She had hung up.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Update timeee (and this time it was long!) Sorry for missng last week it was mother's day so my weekend was pretty busy, but I have nothing to do this weekend so I've been updating my fics. I'm gonna update once more this weekend though I'm not sure which of my fics it'll be, but just throwing that out there! And I already spazzed on my other one, but once again, EXO IS COMING BACKKKKK *more spazzing* I really can't help myself lol