It was a long shot, Yongguk knew. He wasn’t one for mincing words and he wasn’t one to play into fantasies. He knew that he had messed up pretty badly, but he prayed that he could have a second chance. It had been a dumb move but it was a mistake he was willing to correct.

            “Yo, relax yourself man. It’s all in good fun.” This was Himchan after Yongguk had gone to him and yelled at him for being an insensitive bastard who wouldn’t get anywhere. “You were up for it too, you know.”

            That was true but then it became more. “If you liked her, all you had to do was tell us. We would have stopped the bet and let you live happily. But we just assumed that you were all up for it. Dude, all you had to do was communicate.” Daehyun had been unapologetic.

            Frustrating as it was, Yongguk had to admit that it was his fault. If only he had told his friends the truth, then maybe they would have understood. He scratched his head angrily and prepared his apology.

            The song was particularly difficult to write. He wanted to somehow tell her that it was a bet, but only at first. He wanted to tell her that his feelings had developed over time but he never told his friends and they had assumed that it was still a bet. But everything he wrote down sounded like an excuse to him.

            He didn’t really know what to say. If he tried to explain himself, he knew that she would probably not listen to him. Even to him, his words were hollow, useless. Yongguk sighed and shook his foot. He stared at the necklace and wondered if he could use it to convince her. He their initials and at the tiny heart he had added in by himself.

            An idea formed in his head and he based his song off of that one tiny heart. When he was ready, he prepared himself for more objects being thrown. But the one option he couldn’t take would be if she refused to listen to him.

            Yongguk rang her doorbell and he prayed that she would be the one to open. The lights in the house were off, so he wasn’t even sure she was home. He waited a little longer before turning to leave.

            “What are you doing here?”

            He jumped and saw that she was standing in the walkway with her parents. They looked confused and she looked angry. He bowed to them respectfully and turned to her. “Can we talk?”

            She gave her parents a look and he crossed his fingers, banking on the fact that she wouldn’t want any questions being asked. He waited for her to respond. “Mom, dad, I’ll be in later. We’re just going to walk to the park and talk a bit. I won’t be too long.”

            Her father nodded but her mom stayed. “Who is this?”

            “Oh, he’s a classmate. We need to talk about our presentation tomorrow.” They finally walked into the house.

            Yongguk followed her silently to the park and she leaned against the slide. “Hurry up. I don’t have time, in case you didn’t hear me back then.”

            Yongguk swallowed and handed her the necklace. She seemed reluctant to take it but he insisted, holding it out before her, waiting for her. She rolled her eyes and took it from him, dangling the chain carelessly from her fingers.

            He took out the sheet of paper and decided to just give it to her. It would be too awkward to try and rap it, not when the mood was still so hostile. He saw her run her eyes down the page and followed her. He had the entire thing memorized.

The heart that I had added, only to show you mine,

Did you see it?

When you saw what you shouldn’t have, I knew that it was my fault

I knew that everything would be what I deserved

I tried to apologize but all the words sounded weak in my head

I wanted to tell you the truth, but I can only show you

It’s an excuse to point out the scabs on the thumb

The pain that happened so I could make this heart perfect

I guess this is what love is

It’s painful and it hurts and there are mistakes

This is mine and I’m suffering the hurt

I’m sorry I made you cry, I’m sorry you thought I lied

But if you can only see my heart, maybe we can start again

            She continued staring at the page long after she had finished and he rocked on the balls of his feet, nervously watching her. She glanced at the necklace, and he felt a surge of hope. He saw her seek out the slightly crooked heart that he had added in, denting the gold as he did so.

            Yongguk cleared his throat a little and she looked at him. “You made it kind of pointy.”

            He blushed. “Yeah, I’m not a master craftsman for a reason.”

            She smiled then and he ceased to breathe properly. Maybe, just maybe. She closed her hand around the chain and looked at him, serious again. “I’ll call you later. I’ll have to think about it.”

            He nodded. “Alright, I’ll respect that. But can I do one thing first?” She cocked her head and looked at him curiously. Yongguk took a deep breath and leaned in and kissed her. “Thank you.”

because you all asked so so so nicely

here's the sequel

I'm going to try my best to double update tomorrow and Tuesday to get back on schedule