“I just hate today,” Choyoung’s sorrow tainted whimpers echoed throughout the room, filling Soonyoung’s ears. She sat on his lap, arms hanging around his neck as she trembled in his body; weak like a bullied child coming home from a miserable day in school. Her hair was still slightly damp, from her shower earlier. Running his fingers through her still somewhat curled hair, he untangled the knots. He had no idea what to tell her; she still believed he was Chan after all. Choyoung struggled to speak through a wave of hiccups, “I think Soonyoung’s mad at me. It hurts because I don’t know why,”

Then it hit him. Was she afraid of him? Soonyoung realized that he might have frightened her by his sudden outburst. It made him furious that he had just gone for a little while and came back seeing her looking for comfort in Chan. He felt that only he had the authority to do so. But it wasn’t entirely his fault. She was the one clinging on to Chan in the first place. Who wouldn't get mad? Choyoung was his date after all! She rambled on about how she thought he was mad at her as a great pain washed over him; mentally cursing himself for being an idiot. Something inside kept him from revealing that he wasn’t who she believed she was admitting this all to. Choyoung’s hard sobs now calmed down to just sniffles and whimpers. It felt good to get all this off her back and to have someone listen, “I know I shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions but I’m really mad at him too,”

Mad at him? What did she have to be so mad about? He adjusted his position so that his chin rested atop her head. Digging deep into the depths of his memory, he resurfaced with nothing. Nothing that he thought she would be mad at anyway. Brushing her hair away from her face, Choyoung recalled what was hurting her the most, “But seeing him with Heejin and not doing anything just…it kills me!”

“I don’t want to say it but I think I was starting to like him,” Choyoung hesitantly admitted, burying her face into his chest. Never in a million years would she have dreamt of herself saying anything like this. A slight smile appeared on his lips; she was jealous? Of Heejin? A bubbly feeling rose in his stomach; she, someone who preached that she hated him, was now confessing all her feelings to him without knowing it. Suddenly, Choyoung pulled away and leaned over to grab a tissue from her end table. Once she was done wiping her face and blowing her nose, she tossed it into the trash can as best as she could in the blue hued room. The lights were still off. Returning to her previous position, she snuggled back into the comforts of Soonyoung’s arms, still thinking it was Chan. She closed her arms and took a deep breath, “Soonyoung just uninvitingly walked into my life and I blindly took him in. His braces, his cockiness, his small adorable eyes – everything! I didn’t realize how long I’ve been lying to myself. But now, he goes and let’s Heejin kiss him,”

“No, I didn’t,”

Choyoung brought her eyes up, squinting. That wasn’t Chan’s prepubescent voice. She grew worried; Soonyoung staying over at her house was literally the last thing on her mind. In fact, that idea passed by her head. The dim moonlight peering through her venetian blinds made a familiar pair of metal wires glisten in the deep blue of the night. Her voice squeaked when she realized who it was, “Soonyoung?”

“I didn’t kiss Heejin,” Soonyoung defended himself, tightening his grip around her waist to prevent her from jumping out. He kept his voice soft, clam and steady so she could process that he wasn’t Chan. If he had been aggressive, she probably would have flipped out on him. Choyoung squirmed, trying to get out but Soonyoung held her down. Placing a hand under her chin, he pushed her head up for her to look at him, “She tried to but she didn’t,”

Choyoung had no idea what to think or feel right now. dropped when her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness of the room and she could finally make out his facial features. Her palms started to moisten, remembering all the things she just said moments ago. Everything personal, every word of it, she had just given away to forbidden ears. Placing her hands on his chest, she leaned backwards completely surprised, “Wait, did you hear everything that I said?”

“Yes, I did,” he lightly chucked when Choyoung’s eyes widened to the size of full moons. She furiously shook her head, convincing herself that she was only dreaming; it wasn’t really happening. A blush crept up on her face, shocked that she just confessed her feelings to him unintentionally. But there was one thing that was still bugging her. Her voice lowered to a whisper as she brought her eyes down, “But I saw you. Heejin…”

Suddenly, Soonyoung’s hand cradled the back of her head and forcefully pulled her towards him. Surprised at the immediate action, she forced herself backwards so that their lips barely touching. Their still minty fresh breath swirled between them, distracting Choyoung. Soonyoung smirked, watching her trying to piece things together, “See what you just did? Pull back? There’s your answer,”

Choyoung smiled, relieved that Heejin didn’t actually get to kiss him. Her heart fluttered excitedly knowing that she was the only one that he had ever kissed other than his mom. Though she had shared two rather intense ones with Seunggwan, Soonyoung didn’t seem to mind knowing it was strictly school related. He was patient, and always waiting by her side to back her up. Even when he was mad at her, he still had good intentions in his heart. Their gazes met and locked, sweeping her out of reality on a tidal wave of emotion, like always. Leaning in closer, the tips of their noses touched as Soonyoung applied pressure on her forehead the way he always did, “But you know, I like you too. I’ve been head over heels for you since the moment I met you. Completely crazy about you since we got our braces tangled together,”

A lump formed in as he said that, unsure whether or not she should start crying joyful tears or jump around. She tried to swallow, but he was suddenly so close to her she couldn't even think. Her brain refused to register his confession. It was unbelievable that he actually returned her feelings. Her head was spinning bad; bad enough that she couldn't breathe, speak, swallow or hear anything outside of her own painfully thudding heartbeat. She must have looked like a deer caught in headlights. Wanting to prolong the plan he was contructing in his mind, Soonyoung cutely nuzzled her neck like a foal with its mother. Choyoung longed for him to stop teasing already, it was driving her insane. He was always so full of surprises.

Tilting his head at an angle, Soonyoung brought an end to her waiting, sealing the space between their lips as botheir their eyes closed. As if it were second nature, their bodies immediately responded to each other; her arms tightly around his neck, his laying along her waist. Choyoung couldn’t stop her heart from pounding once when she realized how hard his was beating as well. Blood flooded to their cheeks, making their cheeks red as ever. She felt his smile on her lips as the kiss became more intimate. Seductive teatree mint married the still-fresh scent of Irish Spring; intoxicating the two, drowning out all control of their senses. His lips tasted of chocolate from the chocolate he had eaten as an early morning snack while hers was tainted with oranges. He somewhat chuckled at the irony – she hated oranges. He pulled her close so that no space was between them, taking in the full experience. Every once in a while, they would feel the other's braces brush against their bottom lip, making them retreat for a second or two. They had no intentions on getting caught by her parents who were in the bedroom down the hall. Choyoung sharply gasped when Soonyoung lightly traced circles along her lower back with the tips of his fingers. She could feel the corner of his mouth pull into a mischievious smirk afterwards. Soonyoung really did know how to arouse someone.

An almost inaudible moan escaped her lips when he suddenly brushed his fingertips along her spine against the thin fabric of her shirt; Soonyoung swore was literally going to go crazy. She immediately regretted allowing that sound to leave , but took it back as Soonyoung brought the kiss deeper. Choyoung never would have imagined him being a great kisser. Sure, she had experienced it but never at this level of intenseness. A fire burned brighter in their hearts, knowing that they both harbored mutual feelings for each other. Their kiss was a lot more intimate than their first one as neither one of them held back. It was clear on who was dominating over the other; whatever Soonyoung would do, Choyoung would more than happily respond to. They continued for another few minutes until their lungs held no more air. Panting, their chests heaved as Soonyoung slowly slid her off his lap, lowering her down until her back was once again supported by the firm mattress. He hovered over her as she fanned her burning face with her hand.

“God, you’re amazing,” she breathlessly sighed, making Soonyoung laugh. His face was more mature, more shuttered than ever before, and impossibly handsome. She flashed a train tracked smile at him, and he proudly showed off his own set.

Soonyoung cutely winked, “There’s more where that came from,”

“Choyoung and you are dating?!”

Soonyoung slapped a hand to Jihoon’s mouth and pulled him back down on the grass. Why couldn't this dude keep his mouth shut? There was a reason why he told Jihoon to wait after school to tell him! With a worried look on his face, Soonyoun  darted his eyes in every possible direction to see if anyone had heard his idiot friend; luckily there were only a few third year students and they didn’t even seem to be paying attention. There were also a few of his female classmates in the distance but they were busy talking to each other on what he guessed was the new makeup brand collection, or something. He finally came back to reality when he felt something warm and wet running along the inside of his palm and immediately pulled his hand away disgusted when he realized that the younger his hand, “Ew, Jihoon! That's so gross!”

“It’s not like I wanted to do it!” Jihoon protested, wiping off his tongue on the sleeve of his blazer. Remind him never to do that again. He was a neat freak, Jihoon. He had no idea where Soonyoung's hands had been and he didn't even want to think about it. Maybe he shouldn't go around using as a last resort. Rolling his eyes, Soonyoung slouched once more resting his elbows on his knees in a criss-cross position, “Besides, we’re not dating yet. I’m more like – I don’t know, I don’t really have a word for it,”

“Friends with benefits?” Jihoon suggested.

“No, that’s not it. Choyoung and I aren’t just using each other for ual reasons,” he rubbed the back of his head, still thinking of something to describe 'friends who know that they like each other and share a mutual feeling but aren't dating yet.' Friends with benefits was the closest thing he could think of but he wasn't comfortable in using it because of it's ual connotation. What had Choyoung referred to him that morning? Snapping his fingers, he finally remembered, “Ah, that's right! I’m a boyfriend in training!"

A squeal escaped Jihoon’s mouth as he fanboyed over his best friend’s new title. It was so like Choyoung to give Soonyoung a name like that. It was really cute. He had always supported this one true pairing from the start; Soonyoung was just blind for a long time. And yes, Choyoung made it harder by being stubborn. Grinning, he asked, “So who said it first?”

“She did, but it was on accident,” Soonyoung smiled triumphantly as he recalled last night’s racy events. Butterflies stormed in his stomach as he bit his bottom lip, thinking of how incredible their kiss had been. Sure, it sounded sappy, but hey, he’d liked her for such a long time. Her small, dainty fingers running through his hair, bodies pressed close together – no one but the two of them in the room. Jihoon snickered as he watched Soonyoung’s mouth pull into a stupid grin while he drifted away in his thoughts. He knew that he wasn’t going to get any answers from Soonyoung anytime soon.

“Is she a good kisser?”

“Good? Hell, she’s hot!”

Jihoon smirked as Soonyoung’s inner ert took over. It had been a while since he had heard Soonyoung talk like that; the only times he ever used that was when he was jokingly commenting on the soccer cheerleader. But compared to him, Soonyoung hadn’t said that much yet. Unless Soonyoung were to ever use the word ‘y’, that’s when he would know his best friend was really growing up. It was refreshing to see Soonyoung come out with a happy ending. It really was. Now if only he had the same luck with his queen, Baeji, then the world would be complete. It took Soonyoung a minute to realize what he had just said before snapping out of it, “I mean, yeah. She’s okay,”

“Sure, bro,” Jihoon patted his senior on the back, “Now, spill the deets,”

Across the campus in the school library, Bee was all over Choyoung. She leaned over the table, shaking Choyoung by the shoulder, “Hey, are you okay? You’ve been acting really weird all morning and now you can’t stop drawing hearts along the margins of your textbook,”

Looking down from the ceiling, Choyoung responded in a voice a few notes higher from her usual, still looking a bit distracted, “Did you say something?”

“This is exactly what I meant!” Bee rolled her eyes. She figured that Choyoung was just having another one of those moments in which she would be completely out of it. Back in elementary school, her sudden mood changes were common but disappeared in middle school. They hadn’t resurfaced since. Maybe she had a drink at the party last night?

“Alright, I’m sorry! It’s just…” Choyoung grinned as she twirled the pencil she was holding along her fingers. She tried to piece together how to reveal to her best friend of years what went down early in the morning in the easiest way possible. Bee, though was kind and all, was someone who would flip the universe if anything romantic happened in real life even if it had nothing to do with her. Peeking up at Bee’s unamused face, she giggled, “Last night was just so unbelievable,”

“Girl, what happened?” Bee asked restlessly. She had had enough of Choyoung’s game; would it hurt her to be straightforward for once? The curiosity had been eating her alive all day! Her eye caught a small figure, which she recognized as Jihoon, jumping up and down with Soonyoung. Now that made her more curious. Something definitely happened between Choyoung and Soonyoung. She lowered her voice so that only Choyoung could hear, “Did Soonyoung do something?!”

“Maybe…” Choyoung sang out, matching Bee’s voice volume, “A girl doesn’t kiss and tell!”

Eyes bugging out, it took all of Bee’s willpower to flip the table they were working on. Her arms flapped around and a muted scream came out, making a few students at the tables near them put their earbuds in. How rude. Ignoring them, Bee took Choyoung’s hands in hers begging, “Please, please tell me or so help me, I will flip this table right here and now!”

“Okay fine, ask me a question and I’ll answer it,”

“Is he a good kisser? Did you do anything…else?”

Choyoung placed a finger of her chin, thinking about it for a bit while Bee was slowly falling off the edge of her seat. She was itching to just run over to Soonyoung and ask him for details but she knew just as well that he wasn’t the type to say anything without a fight either. Finally, Choyoung brought her attention back to Bee who was now gripping the edges of the desk; she was now going to get the beautiful details to satisfy her feels. Choyoung joined her pointer finger and thumb together, brought it up to and made a locking motion before singing out once again, “Secret!”