Youngjae: Are you okay?

You: Yeh

Youngjae: Mian

You stared at your phone screen after school, wondering about what to reply him. He had sent the text during your first lesson, but after he had apologized, you stopped replying him. You knew he had not meant any trouble but his actions that day had made you questioned of his true intentions.

To you, Youngjae was a nicer version of Daehyun. Sure, Daehyun was nice but he had his bad days. You had always felt like you had to be nice to Youngjae and you could never stay angry with him. He had never once stepped out line with you, even before you started dating Daehyun. Sometimes you wondered if he had ever felt like a shadow to Daehyun, and so you became nicer to him even more.

You growled in frustration as you tried to figure out whether you were really that upset with him. While your mind’s busy, you hadn’t realized someone coming from behind, and only when you heard a low cough did you turn to see who it was.

“Oh Yongguk-ssi! Kamjagiya!”

He stepped up beside you and smiled shyly. “Is something bothering you?”

“Aniyo,” you shook your head as you hurriedly kept your phone.

He noticed your phone, but thankfully didn’t probe on it any further. He continued being beside you and you wondered why he was even worried about you.

“I was worried about you after seeing you just now,” he admitted shyly.

“You were?” you asked. “I hadn’t wanted you to see me like that. I’m sorry.”

He seemed dumbfounded by your apology, and stuttered when he next spoke. “Ani, why are you sorry? It’s not like you just did a crime.”

You studied his face, thankful that he was nice about it. “Anyways, gomawoyeo. I really mean it when I said it back then. I didn’t expect you out of all people to have been waiting for me.”

You gave him a grateful smile to which he returned with another shy smile.

“You know, this is the first time I’ve seen you in school,” you confessed. “All these while I keep seeing you in the bookstore, I didn’t know you’re my Sunbae. Should I call you Sunbae now?”

He gave out a deep laugh, covering his mouth. “Ani.. we can speak in Banmal if you want to.”

“Can I?” you laughed. “It’s kind of awkward though since we’ve just met.”

“But we’ve met a few times already,” he pointed out quickly.

Somehow you find his comment amusing, how he had to correct you so quickly, and you laughed out loud. You started to walk off, since it was nearly time for your shift at the bookstore.

“Where are you going?” he called out, and you noticed a somehow disappointed face.

“The bookstore. I’m working an extra shift today since there’s new books coming in,” you answered. “Do you want to follow?”

He hesitated to answer so you assumed he already had plans. Someone like him seemed to be quite busy.

“It’s okay if you’re busy. I was just asking,” you added with a smile.

“Aniyo!” he blurted. “I..yeah, I’d like to.”

He caught up to you and the both of you walked towards the bookstore together. “Where’s your friend anyways?”

“Which one? Youngjae?”

“Yeah, the one who was at the bookstore with you yesterday. I often see you with him in school. Why isn’t he here?”

You eyed him and instead of answering, you tried to avoid his question. “So you have seen me around in school before?”

“What?” he seemed taken aback. “No..I mean..well, here and there.”

You laughed at his nervousness. “Why are you so nervous? I was just asking. I mean, I usually keep to myself in school to avoid stuff.”

“Stuff? Like what?”

You didn’t answer him immediately and stared at the ground as you walked. He must have sensed that it was a topic you would rather not talk about. Thinking back of the hateful comments, you realized you were tearing up. You took a deep breath, hoping not to cry again.

“Did the girls hurt you again?” Daehyun would ask, peeking over your fringe which had fallen over your eyes as you lowered your head to hide your face from him.

You were hoping that he wouldn’t notice the bruises on you. You wanted him to just think that it was the usual breakdown you would have and wanted him to leave you to yourself, but having known him for more than 10 years already, he wasn’t one to leave whenever you’re upset. You shook your head anyways.

“Yah, how can they be like that to my warrior?” he feigned anger. “Don’t they know that you could easily hurt them back?”

Usually that would make you laugh immediately. It was always funny whenever he called you his warrior, in reference to the many times you had saved him when you were kids. You had always been a tough one to crack. But that day, the comments had hurt more than usual and they had even attempted to pull your hair out. When you continued crying, he sat beside you and placed his arms around you, wrapping you up in his chest. The scent of his cologne was strong and you felt his hands gently your hair. He needn’t say anything to you. It definitely helped calm you down as your sobbing turned quieter with each .

He tilted your chin up and only then, noticed the bruises. He wiped your tears away with his thumbs, looking at you with those eyes you loved so much about him.

“Who did this to my warrior?” he uttered, the hurt in his voice being very prominent. He leaned in and gave your bruises a light kiss.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault that you’re always hurting,” he said softly in his Busan dialect. “From now on, I’ll always stay beside you, okay? The only thing that matters is that I’m here beside you, around you, with you.”

You continued looking at him silently, before he added, “Don’t I love you?”

To that cheesiness, you chortled.

Remembering Daehyun again, you turned your head away to wipe out the tears that were filled up in your eyes. You turned to see Yongguk’s concerned face staring back at you. You sniffed and laughed at how ridiculous you were.

“Mian,” you apologized, giving out a hearty laugh. “I’m kind of emotional these days. What is this, is my period coming?”

At first, he seemed to still be worried. But since you were smiling from cheek to cheek, he couldn’t bring himself to ask any further.

“You’ve seen me cry twice today,” you grinned, trying to hold back your tears. “For not asking why, gomawoyeo.”

He gave a warm smile and tried to change the subject as you were both nearing the bookstore. “So how long have you been working here?”

“I used to just help out around here. After my parents died, Daehyun’s parents took me in so I felt like the least I could do was help out around the store,” you told him. “Ah, you don’t know who Daehyun is right?”

“Busan Wonbin?”

You laughed at his answer, forgetting about the emotional you just a few seconds ago. It had been a while since you heard that nickname. You wondered how he would have known that.

“Do the girls still call him that?” you laughed. “That always cracked us up.”

“Did you love him?”