“What? You guys are going to debut?” I asked in excitement. Daehyun and Youngjae nodded enthusiastically and did their own little handshake from across the table. “Seriously? That’s so awesome! Congratulations!” I squeezed Youngjae next to me in a hug, earning a whine from Daehyun. I turned to him and reached for a high five, which he looked at in disappointment.

“Just a high five?” He complained. I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh.

“You’re across the table pabo. Later I’ll give you a hug.” I bargained. He smiled at my offer and slapped my hand in the air. Sunhee sat next to Daehyun completely confused by the situation.

“Did I miss something? Debut? For what?” She asked all of us. I gave Youngjae a funny look. He hadn’t mentioned anything to her yet, not that Daehyun mentioned anything to me. I just met Daehyun on that day of their audition. Youngjae looked at me nervously, biting his lip in guilt. I sighed then explained to Sunhee.

“Whoa! Really? That’s so cool! So you guys will be famous?” I shook my head at her first choice of words. Youngjae laughed at my annoyance but nodded none the less to Sunhee with a sweet smile.

“Hopefully.”

When we finished our meals, I waved Chanhee over, pretending to rush him.

“Chanhee-ah!” I half-yelled, gathering his attention. He looked over and smiled before nodding his head.

“Yes, miss?” He teased with his tongue sticking out.

“Check please.” I grinned making a box shape with my fingers. Chanhee nodded and had his finger up telling me to wait a moment. I grabbed my napkin that laid on top of my lap and wiped away any crumbs Youngjae or I let slip off our plates—something I did wherever I would eat out. I remembered Minhyuk would scold me for doing so, since it was what employees were getting paid for. I understood his logic but couldn’t stand leaving the table messy. In a matter of minutes, the check came by and all four of us split the bill. I left a kind tip for Chanhee and left the plastic tray with money on the table to be collected before we left. I said my goodbyes to Chanhee, both of us making sure to contact each other soon.

As the four of us exited the café, the sun’s bright rays shone over our eyes, causing us to cover them. We made our way back to the university. Daehyun rested his arm on my shoulder, making me slump over a bit from the weight. I shrugged it off teasingly.

“Tch, I’m not your arm rest.” I mused and stuck my tongue out at him. He laughed at my statement and ignored me. He put his arm around my shoulder this time, making my face heat up at the sudden intimacy. I hung my head low to prevent him from seeing my face. A small chuckle escaped Daehyun’s mouth as he gripped my shoulder tighter during our walk.

I felt…weird? It was because Daehyun and I weren’t together but we did things like hold hands and talk like we were a couple—teasing each other and such. He would always smile at me lovingly; wink; and now he put his arm around my shoulder so casually. Truthfully, I wanted Daehyun by my side, more than anything. I had hurt him but he forgave me. I appreciated his kindness and his forgiveness immensely, and wanted to be with him, making sure he wouldn’t slip away again. To keep his warmth and comfort with me. When I was with Daehyun, I felt like I could let my guard down. I was comfortable, safe, and relaxed. As much I wanted Daehyun to myself, I knew at the corner of my heart I couldn’t completely let him in.

Daehyun disturbed me from my thought when he pressed his lips against my hair, startling me.

“What’s on your mind?” He asked softly backing away. I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. Since I was practically caught, I didn’t bother coming up with a fake smile or excuse. Daehyun slipped his hand into mine and held it in his hands not looking at me as we neared the entrance of the university. The walk seemed longer than usual for some reason.

“Want to take a walk?” He asked me. I looked up at him, meeting his eyes. They looked back into mine then curled up into a smile. I smiled back and nodded happily.

Daehyun took me to the park; we strolled around slowly hand in hand letting silence consume us for a bit. It was nice. The sun was warm against my skin and it was quiet, like it usually was. There were people exercising up and the down the paths, either jogging or walking their cute dogs. Later, we found an ice cream cart and Daehyun bought popsicles. It was perfect to eat in the kind of weather.

“Ah!” I yelped. A piece of my popsicle nearly slipped of the stick as it started reaching the middle and melting quickly. I scooped it up with my mouth before it fell off, the extreme cold freezing the top of my mouth from the huge chunk. “Wah…ish sho cold...” Daehyun laughed next to me and wiped the corner of my mouth with a napkin.

“You’re such a dork Hyunji.” I the remains on my mouth and swallowed satisfied. I let out a refreshed sigh and thanked Daehyun for the treat. He finished his popsicle soon after then tossed the stick into the trash, making a basket. “Whoa!” He yelled in excitement. I clapped half-heartedly at how childish he was, but laughed all the same. He was cute.

Next, Daehyun led me to the playground. I ran toward the swing set like a little girl returning to my childhood. I guess Daehyun and I had that in common: we were such kids sometimes. There was only one left; Daehyun and I dashed toward it, racing to grab the seat first. We met at the same time trying to squeeze into the seat. Of course with his weight, he beat me, causing me to move away. I huffed and crossed my arms in defeat. Daehyun laughed at me and jeered.

“You can sit here.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he motioned to his lap.

“Haha how about, no.” I scoffed playfully. Daehyun shrugged his shoulders then stood up reluctantly. He motioned for me to take the seat and I did swiftly before he changed his mind.

“I’ll push you.” Daehyun came behind me and pushed the swing gently as I helped by kicking my feet. The small child occupying the swing next to me looked at us with a tinge of envy. I looked at him and smiled warmly.

“Daehyun, push him too.” I said. He stopped pushing me then looked at the child, whose expression changed from jealousy to excitement.

“Sure.” He agreed then moved over to the boy’s side and moved his swing forward.

“Higher hyung!” He cheered. I couldn’t help but coo at how cute the little boy was, plus he called Daehyun “hyung.”

“Kick your feet like this,” I instructed the boy swaying my feet while the swing moved toward its . The boy followed my movements and started laughing joyously. Daehyun soon stopped once the swing reached an appropriate height, letting the boy have his fun.

Eventually the little boy left when his older brother, who looked like he was only a few years older than him, came by to pick him up.

“Thank you hyung. Thank you noona!” The young boy waved then scurried away with his real older brother. I waved back and smiled.

“That was tiring.” Daehyun complained as he sat in the once empty swing set. I let out a chuckle. “All you did was push us.” I said. Daehyun kicked his feet off the ground and started to push himself.

“Well, you two are heavy.” He teased.

“Tch, not even.” Daehyun laughed at my reaction and didn’t say anything else. We stayed for a while talking about when Daehyun’s debut would be and others while pushing ourselves on the swings.

When we reached to a comfortable silence, I leaned my body back and looked at the clear, blue sky.

“Hey, you’re going to fall off.” Daehyun warned.

“No I’m not.” I ignored his caution. Daehyun suddenly appeared in my vision and stopped my swing. I looked up at his upside down face and stuck my tongue out at him. He imitated my expression, making me giggle.

“Hyunji-ah. Be my girlfriend.” He said bluntly. My smile disappeared at his words. I looked into his eyes for a moment, and then started to feel dizzy. I brought my body up to sit straight and looked at what was in front of me. Daehyun came around and knelt down so he was in my vision, right in front of my face and meeting my eyes. He waited patiently for my answer. My silence I knew only made it harder on him, so I finally spoke up.

“Let me think about it.” I said. Daehyun nodded at looked somewhere else, breaking our gaze. I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea and continued to explain myself. “I don’t mean to think about being your girlfriend. It’s something else.” I told him. Daehyun’s eyes met mine again trying to understand what I was talking about. I took Daehyun’s face into my hands and let my hand run through his hair.

“Just please, wait a little bit.” I told him. I felt so guilty about doing this to Daehyun again, but I had to sort something out with my brother first. I had to somehow bargain with him. Maybe if he knew how well I was doing in school even with my feelings for Daehyun, he’d make an exception. Daehyun gave me a small smile and nodded. He stood up and pulled me from the seat with our hands intertwined to head back to the university.

Dear oppa,

I’m sorry.

Haha! I kept my promise, but I made you wait long...SORRY! Ooo...the story is closer to ending now but we're not quite there yet hehe Please stay tuned!

Thank you readers and subbcribers for your comments! I really love seeing a variety of people commenting as well as my usual commentators :D Let's be friends too yes? Feel free to add me. You can follow me on tumblr too if you'd like: nyangseob ^.^