“What’s wrong?” Jaehyo asked, waving a hand before me. I shook my head in response and smile at him. He sighed and leaned forward, “We’ve been sitting here for more than a minute. Did you have anything to tell me?”
My lips dropped the smile. That’s right, I was supposed to tell him my feelings, but the sudden counter with Kyung forced all my feelings for him to come back. I leaned back and inhaled the night air, “I’m hungry,”
“Hungry?” He repeated, “Where do you want to go eat?”
“I… want something sweet,”
“I think there’s a bakery just nearby,” he stood up; the tone of his voice dropped, which made me feel horrible. He was waiting for it yet I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to him about my feelings. “Come on,” Jaehyo extended a hand to me, “you’re hungry, right?”
I nodded and took his hand. Instantly, I felt a wave of relief wash over me—like as it were clearing away the anxiety that was brought on by Kyung. Jaehyo was able to make me feel like myself within seconds. We walked hand-in-hand towards the bakery. Rather than it be a quiet walk, Jaehyo decided to tell me about his weekend. Since he knew that I would avoid him, Jaehyo took the chance to study by himself. He found it frustrating but in the end, he was able to figure out his mistakes and correct himself.

 “It’s all thanks to you,” he smiled, “without your help, I would have probably gone out and learned nothing.”
“It’s a no-brainer to figure that if you actually take some time out of your life to learn, it’ll help you.”
“So,” Jaehyo cleared his throat, “why do you suddenly want to eat something sweet?”
I shrugged, “My sweet tooth has been calling for something lately,”
He laughed, “I didn’t know you had such a thing,”

Soon, we reached the bakery and I ordered a dozen of cupcakes for the two of us to share. We took a seat in one of the booths with our cupcakes. I smiled and reached for a colorfully decorated cupcake. Without hesitation, I took a bite of the delicious cupcake and smiled at the taste. It was warm and delightful.
“Yum?” Jaehyo asked as he reached for a cupcake. I nodded and urged him to take a bite of the cupcake. He does so without hesitation, but after the bite, his face scrunched. “Way too sweet for me; the icing that is.” I laughed and took another bite of my cupcake. “Your laugh is cute,” Jaehyo commented, widening a smile onto his lips.
I stiffened, clearing my throat, and grabbed another cupcake.
“Eating these aren’t good for us,” he said, “especially when it’s dark.”
“Well, what does it matter anyways?” I replied, “We’re young and won’t develop anything serious—other than cavities.”
“You’re acting stranger than usual, too.”
I ignored his comment and continued to eat my cupcake, “Hurry and eat them,”
“Did something happen before I arrived?” Again, I ignored him which he sighed and leaned forward. “I hope you don’t forget that you’re coming with me to a party just a week from today.” He reminded as he took a bite from his cupcake.
“It’s been a month already?”

Jaehyo nodded, “Yep. Doesn’t feel that long, does it?”
“Who did you say the party was for again?”
“My step-mother’s son who arrived from overseas,”
“What’s his name?”
“Not sure,” he answered, “by the time my father had gotten re-married he had left the house and never came back. But just a few months ago, he had come back and told my father that he was willing to study abroad just like my father wanted him to. So, I guess he’s just back to visit.”
I nodded, “I don’t know if I have anything nice to wear that night though,”
Jaehyo smiled, “Don’t worry, I have you covered for that.”
“Please don’t be like those guys who is willing to pay extra for their girl to look pretty for a party.”
Jaehyo raised his brows, “Their girl?” He repeated, “Don’t tell me… you want us to start dating?”
I swallowed back. How could I have been  oblivious to my words, “I-I didn’t mean it that way—“
He narrowed his eyes, “If you like me, just spit it out.”

“I…” Why was I hesitating? This was what I wanted to tell him! “I…”

The sound of a song interrupted the moment—Jaehyo’s phone. He reached into his pocket and placed the device next to his right ear, “Hello?”
While he talked on the phone, I quietly ate the cupcakes. My whole body was on edge after I failed to spit my confession to Jaehyo. He was the perfect person for me, yet another part of my brain was telling me I shouldn’t. I guess right now would be the chance that I tell him before it’s too late. Plus, it wasn’t like I was going to encounter Kyung again. That was probably just a one-time thing. As Jaehyo removed the device from his ear, I leaned forward and cleared my throat.

“Jaehyo,” I began, “I… Um, well, I like you.” The words flowed from my lips too easily; I quickly regretted letting the words come out—but for what reason? Though I didn’t want to admit, I knew it was because I had just met Kyung. I avoided looking up at Jaehyo and waited for his answer, but he kept quiet. Seconds turned into a minute and by now I was confused as to why he was quiet for such a long time. Didn’t he just hear my confession? Slowly, I looked up and noticed that Jaehyo was staring blankly past me. I turned my head around and heard the sound of an ambulance race past us. Right then, Jaehyo stood up and ran from the table. Surprised, I sat there for a couple of seconds before deciding to follow him out of the bakery. However, when I exited the bakery, I couldn’t find Jaehyo anywhere. Where could he have run to in such a short time? Wherever he went, I had to look for him. Who knows where he could end up!


After 30 minutes of running in circles, I couldn’t find Jaehyo. I would have gone to the nearest hospital—since what he had followed was an ambulance—but I wasn’t sure if he had completely followed it there. In the end, I decided it was best that I head back home. I’ll most likely see him tomorrow anyways, and will probably ask him if he was alright. As soon as I reached the front of the apartments, I found Jaehyo sitting on the stairs with his head in his hands. I quickly walked to him and hugged him without thinking about it.
“You were here,” I stated.
Jaehyo inhaled, “I’m sorry,”
“For what? Running away from me?”
“I heard it and immediately,” he paused, “I had a flashback of that night when the ambulance took my mother away. I thought that if I followed it, I would find my mom and she would be alright. I just…”
“It’s okay,” I tightened my arms around him, “I… I’m here for you,”
Jaehyo wrapped his arms around me; he cooed my name, “Thank you.”
“Do you want to come inside for a bit?”
“Sorry,” Jaehyo pulled back, “I actually need to get back to the dorm before my roommate lectures me for going out late again.” He smiled, which I smiled back and nodded. Pulling away, I watched as Jaehyo stood up and waved at me before walking away. I walked up the stairs and towards my apartment. Unlocking the door, I took a step into the empty room. The air reeked of food and the floor had scattered papers all over. I guess it was a good thing Jaehyo declined my invitation to come in.

As I lied down for the night, Kyung’s face appeared in my mind. Inside, I was happy to see him again but on the outside, I wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not. There was so many questions I wanted to ask him, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to meet him again. Maybe I could go visit that house he lived in and see if I could talk to him. Though, I really doubt it that Kyung’s friends would let me in. They didn’t seem to like me very much. Putting the thought aside, I decided to go to sleep for the night.

-

“Add the remaining numbers together and you’ll get the answer of the variable.” I explained, pointing a pencil at the assignment paper. “Understandable?”
Jaehyo nodded in response, “Totally. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to do that or not.”
“Yep,” I leaned back, stretching my arms up and letting out a soft yawn. I looked off to the side at the clock and noticed that our time was almost up. Leaning forward, I turned my attention to my own assignment and quickly wrote my name at the top. “Time is almost up, so I think I’m going to leave early.”
“That’s fine,” Jaehyo smiled, “oh, by the way, I’ll meet you up after work tonight.”
“You will?”
“Yes,” he nodded, “there’s something I need to clarify with you.”
“Okay,” I answered as I gathered my things. “I’ll see you then.”

The whole day flashed by like lightning and it was already time for me to clock out. I waved to my co-workers as I exited the store. The minute I was outside, I was greeted by Jaehyo, who rang the bell of a bike. I furrowed my brows, confused at the situation.
“I got a bike,” he smiled.
I looked around and back at him, “Mine isn’t around here,”
“That’s okay,” he patted the back of the bike’s seat, “you can sit here.”
“Are you sure it’s going to fit us both?”
He nodded, “Unless you’re telling me that you have a big bottom,”
“O-Of course not!” I answered with a frown.
He laughed, “Come on then,”
I scowled, “I would rather walk,” I said and began to. I could hear the soft sound of the bike’s wheels as it rolls over the cemented ground. Slightly turning my head to the side, I watched as Jaehyo rode his bike to match the speed of my walking. “So what it is that you wanted to clarify with me.”

“Yesterday,” he began, “though I was kind of out of it, I was sure I heard a confession from you. Do you think you can tell me what you said?” I stiffened at his question and shook my head.
“You missed your chance,”
“Missed my chance?” He repeated, “Don’t tell me you’re nervous to say those three words to me again.”
“Don’t you think once is enough?”
“Once is never enough,” he stated, “especially since I couldn’t quite hear you well enough.”
“Well, that’s too bad.”
“Come on,” he said my name, “just let me hear it this once and I won’t ever ask you to say it again.”
I sped up my walk, seeing that I was only a couple feet away from being home. It seemed that Jaehyo had noticed that too and slightly sped his speed and stopped before me. He frowned childishly at me and pointed a finger at me.
“Tell me how you feel,”
“You’re being ridiculous, Jaehyo.” I answered and pushed his finger away. Jaehyo got off of his bike and put his arms out, as if to block me from walking away from him. I raised a brow, “What are you doing?”
He perked a smile and put his arms to his side; taking a large step forward, Jaeyhyo’s face was suddenly inches away from mine. “I wonder…” he cleared his throat, “did you know you have a mole on your eyelid?”
“M-Mole?” I leaned my face back, “What are you talking about? I don’t have one there.”
“Are you sure?” He asked, which I nodded to. “Well, how about you close your eyes to let me clarify it then.” He suggested.
“I look at my face every morning and have never seen one there,”
“Maybe you missed it,”
“I couldn’t have,”
“Well, maybe if you close your eyes and let me see, then I can tell you if you do or not.”

Without another word, I closed my eyes like he said and waited for him to tell me. After a couple of seconds, I was getting impatient and sighed. “What’s taking you so long to tell me—” The brush of soft lips touched mine; hands were placed on the sides of my face. I opened my eyes and was astonished to see Jaehyo’s face so close to mine. His lips softly moved against mine before he pulled away and smile.
“Well, I guess I was wrong about your eyelid having a mole,” he winked, “I must have just seen something else.” I was too out of it to say a word to Jaehyo. He chuckled and took a step back, “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow; maybe we could change the status of our relationship to… dating or something, you know.” He said before getting back on his bike, and rode away.
 

author's note; thanks for reading! glad you guys liked the last chapter lol (: