Is this the feeling of falling hard for someone? Ailee thought as she blankly stared at her bedroom’s ceiling, a hand clenched over her heart. It was late at night and everyone in her household was fast asleep. Yet, why wasn’t she herself fast asleep? Her thoughts raced through her mind as she remembered the memories she made with him. The moon lit up her room as she sat up and curled up into a little ball. She buried her face into her knees as she inhaled the comforting scent of the vanilla incense that filled her room. 

I haven’t experienced anything like this before… I’ve never gotten so nervous and self-conscious around a person before. My heart beats real fast and my palms get sweaty, what is this feeling? Her mind flashed back to the time she first met the guy invading her thoughts. It was towards the end of their first semester when her homeroom teacher announced that they were going to have a new student. Normally, no one would listen to the teacher, but announcing that they were going to have a new student caught Ailee’s attention. In came a guy who stood around 6’1 with a blank expression on his face. The guy had slightly tan skin and dark brown eyes. His brown-burgundy hair went down to his forehead and was swept to the right side.

“Annyeonghaseyo, my name’s Roh Jihoon and I transferred from the U.S. Please take care of me.” He said and bowed slightly.

“Alright, your seat will be next to Ailee. Ailee, please raise your hand.”

Ailee perked up as she heard her name and raised her hand. He quickly took his seat as the teacher began their lecture. She turned towards her tall seat mate and looked up him with a small smile. “Hey Jihoon, my name is Ailee. Shin-seonsaengnim usually has our seatmates be our permanent partner for group projects. I hope we can get along for the rest of the school year.” She said as she held out her hand. Ailee watched as he hesitated at first but gave her a small smile and shook her hand.

“I'd like that.”

She eyesmiled at him and said, "If you're still uncomfortable with Korean, feel free to speak English with me since I too am from the States." 

Jihoon gave her a grateful nod and said, "That would be more convenient for me. Shall we drop the honorifics as well whenever we speak Korean?" 

Raising an eyebrow at this, she chuckled slightly and shrugged. "Sure why not." 

He smirked and said, "Well then, gomawo Ailee-yah for offering you help." 

Scoffing slightly, the latter rolled her eyes playfully and said, "Yeah, whatever." 

After classes, Ms. Shin asked Ailee to show Jihoon around the school. As she was giving him the tour, the two got along easily. The both of them began to get closer as they kept talking about themselves as the tour progressed. Ailee couldn’t believe it. Usually she had a tough time getting along with people, yet how did she bond so easily with Jihoon? By the end of Jihoon's first day at Seoul High, the two friends had inside jokes and talked nonstop. They exchanged numbers and continued talking to each other as they went home.

A few months passed and Jihoon had finally grown accustomed to the ways of their high school. Their group of friends noticed how inseparable the two could be. Ailee and Jihoon were like two peas in a pod, it was like they were stuck together like glue. People even began to question if the two of them were dating. The latters denied it strongly claiming that they were only close friends. Whenever Ailee would be with her girlfriends, they would always pester her about if she had feelings for Jihoon or not. Every single time she would deny it, but whenever she went home after a day of hanging out, she couldn’t help but wonder. Did she harbor any feelings for Jihoon? Indeed he was quite the eye candy for most of the female population in her school, but did she really like him in that way? After having some time to think about it, she’d always laugh it off and tell herself that Jihoon was just a brother to her.

But, what Ailee didn’t know, was that she’d fall hard for her friend in just a short period though. She didn’t know how she grew feelings for Jihoon, but she did. The more time they spent together and talked, Ailee finally began noticing small aspects of Jihoon that she didn’t know before. He would always keep to himself whenever he’s with other peers, but whenever he’s with her or his other eleven male friends there would always be a sense of warmth in his eyes and a small smile would be found on his face. If Jihoon would get frustrated or he would think too much, he’d unconsciously bite his bottom lip or have a blank face. He’d always pat her head or ruffle her hair whenever she’d do something embarrassing or mess up in a way to comfort her. She’s never paid this much attention to a guy before. Now here she is, sitting on her bed in the middle of the night with her hazel brown eyes eyeing her phone. Her dark brown hair was tied up in a lazy bun and a sigh escaped her red lips.

“I can’t believe this is happening… Have I really fallen for that annoying giant?” Ailee groaned as she flopped back down into her original position.

Grabbing her phone, she stared at the text her best friend sent her when they were talking about her recent change of personality towards Jihoon.

'Girl, it’s obvious that you’ve developed strong feelings for Jihoon. We haven’t seen you so jittery and stutter so much whenever you’re near him. The last time you acted like this was when you had that major crush on your childhood friend before he moved away. If you want him to be yours, I suggest confessing your feelings to him on Valentine’s Day which is two days from now.

P.S. – The girls and I managed to get out of Jihoon that he likes you back. So go for it!'

That was sent two days ago and it was the night before Valentine’s Day. She looked at the time and sighed.

Five more hours until it’s Dooms Day… Can I really do this? C’mon Ailee, you can’t back down! You’ve already written the letter and worked hard on making homemade chocolates for him. It tasted fine when you tried it earlier. He’s tried your cooking before, so why are you acting like this?!

Ailee slapped her forehead as she groaned. She buried her face into the softness of her pillow and bit her bottom lip. God, I sound like a love struck girly-girl. I can’t believe I actually went old school on this. A yawn slipped through her lips as her eyes began to grow heavy. The next thing she knew, her eyes closed and drifted off into her own dream land.

The next day, Valentine’s Day, had finally arrived as Ailee’s alarm clock went off. Her hand shot up from underneath the covers and pressed the snooze button as she sat up groggily. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she sat on her bed for a few moments as she thought about the day's event.

Today’s finally the day I’m going to confess to Jihoon. Let’s hope everything goes well and luck is on my side.

With a determined look on her face, she got ready for school with a fast, beating heart. Before setting off to school, Ailee double checked if she had everything prepared and ready. Her hair and makeup were simple, yet elegant. Her simple white V-neck and skinny jeans with a dark red blazer and maroon vans wasn’t that flashy, but it fit the day’s occasion. Thoughts of the outcome of her confession swam through her head as she said goodbye to her parents and walked towards her high school. Once she reached the school gates, she began her search for her best friend. Considering that he was one of the most sought out people to get the most love confessions and Valentine candy, Ailee had an idea where Jihoon would be hiding. As she walked through the halls, she greeted her friends and peers with a bright smile as she accepted their gifts to her. Finally reaching her destination, she peered into the old music room that was at the back of their school.

Aha, he’s here as always during Valentine’s Day… Ailee let out a soft chuckle as her grip on her letter and box of chocolates tightened. This is it, you can do this Ailee. With a deep breath, she opened the door to the music room where she and Jihoon would always hang out after school.

“Jihoon-ah.”

He looked up to meet eyes with Ailee. She gave him a lopsided smile as she hid her Valentine’s gift behind her back.

“Hiding from your fan girls once again?” she teased.

They both chuckled as he nodded and stood up. Jihoon walked towards her and they both of them stood in front of each other. “So? You still have your own fans.”

She shrugged and laughed. “Even so... Those don't really matter. You know that I'm just gonna give all my chocolate to charity or my parents. The ones I keep are the ones from the gang and my parents." 

Jihoon nodded in agreement as they both looked at each other. A moment of comfortable silence fell between the two as Ailee avoided his stare and rocked on her heels. She looked up to the ceiling as she tried to calm her fast, beating heart. Come on Ailee... It's now or never. Looking back at Jihoon, she took a deep breath before fulling facing him. The girl bit her bottom lip as her vision casted downwards. "Actually Jihoon… I have something to give you.” Ailee felt her cheeks grow warm as she presented her gift to him and he took it from her hands.

“You actually got me something this year?” he asked as he raised an eyebrow at her, examining the neatly wrapped gift.

She nodded and played with her fingers, trying to not make eye-contact with him. Ailee couldn’t help but sneak glances at him as he opened the envelope  that was on top of his gift and read her confession. As soon as he was done, Jihoon was about to say something but the bell rang, signaling that it was time for everyone to go to their first class. With a sigh and small smile, she looked back at Jihoon and said, “You don’t have to give me an answer now, I just wanted to let you know since it’s Valentine’s Day and…yeah. See you at lunch Jihoon!” With that, she darted out of the classroom with a relieved smile. I did it. Ailee looked back at the music room once more as she reached the end of the hallway. I actually did it...

A/N - Ah, I know it's quite short... that's because it was only five pages double-spaced ;; I'll try and make it up with Jihoon's POV and the ending. . .  They'll probably be either the same length or longer. Anyways, don't forget to comment and subscribe!