/ding dong/

 

Grudgingly glancing toward my front door, I haul myself off of the living room couch with a sigh. I wasn't expecting any visitors, unless...

 

Minsoo.

 

I thought I told that boy that I just wanted to rest tod--

 

"Hey, I know you're home. Open up," he chuckles from outside my home. My feet drag ever so slowly across my carpet before I finally reach the foyer. The door swings open, however, before I can get to the locks. Minsoo looks at me, a sheepish grin forming on his face. "Uh, the spare key was under the--"

 

"I know where my spare key is, you dummy." A small smile appears on his lips and he follows me into my living room, where I was peacefully resting only five minutes ago. He invites himself to take a seat, while I fall back lazily onto the couch across from him. Today, I can feel an air of confidence surrounding him. Well, he's always pretty confident, but today, it's more than usual.

 

"Hey, Minsoo?"

 

"Mm?"

 

I chuck a pillow at him. "Why are you here?"

 

My best friend breaks out into yet another smile and tosses the pillow back to me. "What, is there a ban on visiting you now?"

 

Shooting him a glare, I say, "When I'm tired on a Saturday morning, yes!" The pillow comes flying at Minsoo's face with even more force. He skillfully catches it.

With a shrug, he replies, "Well, you didn't tell me you didn't want anybody over today." A growl arises in my throat and Minsoo laughs heartily.

 

I glance up from behind my fringe to find him sauntering over to me, still holding that pillow. The couch cushion next to me sinks, and I can sense his body heat. I ignore my heartbeat, too used to the feeling. Naturally, my head tips back and rests on his shoulder. Minsoo returns the action, like normal, but this time, he buries his face in my hair. "Your hair smells like strawberries," he remarks, his deep voice muffled.

My mind is starting to conjure up too many thoughts for me to handle, and this time, I don't ignore the feeling. I feel like I'm being driven to insanity, and strangely enough, I don't mind it. Not one bit.

 

Scoffing playfully, I exhale and say, "Yes, because my hair care products are strawberry scented, Minsoo. Are you done being stupid yet?"

 

"For you? Never," he pulls away slightly and gives me another infamous grin. My heart goes wild at the sight, and I can't help but acknowledge the possibility that I may have a teensy little crush on Bang Minsoo. No, I inwardly shudder and shake my head. I can't be attracted to him in that way. We've known each other too long.

 

My thoughts are interrupted by Minsoo's voice resonating throughout the house."Hey, why is it so quiet in here? You usually have music playing or something."

I remind him once again that I was trying to get some rest. "Well, then, let's liven up the atmosphere," he rises from his seat and walks toward my stereo system, pulling out his iPod from his jacket pocket.

The way he crouches down to plug his device in gives me a nice view of his side profile, and goodness, his features are...wow. I unconsciously let my eyes wander over the minuscule freckle under his eye, the soft contour of his cheekbones, his perfectly shaped lips...his lips. Is it weird that I want to touch his lips? Those rosy pink, irresistibly soft lips...something inside of me tells me to snap out of it, but I brush it off.

My gaze falls on his defined collarbones and trails down to his sculpted arms. It feels like my breath hitches in my throat before I attempt to regain my composure. Curse him for wearing a sleeveless shirt.

 

This is going to be a long visit.

 

"Let's dance, baby! " Minsoo shouts as the music kicks in, jogging over to me, all smiles. 

He holds out his hand to help me up as I tell him, "You really won't let me take a nap, will you?"

 

"Nope!"

 

I roll my eyes, putting my hand in his, letting him lead me to the center of the room. He does these crazy random things often, but this time seems...different. Very different.

 

"You have really soft hands," I blurt unexpectedly. He just chuckles and gently tugs me closer to him. It's at that moment when I take notice of the song that's playing. One of those semi-slow, romantic songs? Really, Minsoo? Now, of all the times?

 

"Uh...Minsoo...the music..." I start, unsure of how to word this.

 

He stares into my eyes, and it feels like my legs are threatening to slip out from under me. "What about it?"

 

"This...this is really...never mind."

 

"Mmhmm, that's what I thought." 

 

My eyes glaze over with the smallest bit of shock and my lips part slightly. "Oh, okay, so now that you get all this confidence to do...this," I take a breath to wildly gesture at our close proximity, "you still have the nerve to talk back to me like that?"

 

Minsoo's eyebrows raise a little bit as he lowers his head so that our foreheads are almost touching. "What am I, your son?"

That shuts me up. He smirks victoriously and begins to say some things that I never would have expected to come out of his mouth.

 

"You know, for a honor student, you're pretty stupid."

 

And with that remark, there is no hesitation in my actions when I make a move to lightly slap Minsoo across his face. But of course, he anticipates the action and catches my wrist before it makes contact with his cheeks. Slowly, he moves my outstretched hand to his shoulder. My fingers accidentally graze his face in the process, and a ghost of a smile graces Minsoo's face. It's then that I realize that his tactics are no "accident." 

 

He could not...he would never...

 

"You're stupid when it comes to--"

 

"Do you realize how hard I work to maintain my grades?" I huff indignantly, interrupting whatever he was trying to say. I had a feeling that in the back of my head, I knew what the next word to come out of his mouth would've been. I was just too scared to let it happen. Our eyes meet, and I can tell that this whole thing is so very amusing to him. Yet, as I'm looking into his sharp, twinkling brown eyes, it's clear that he can feel my heart about to jump out of my chest. My face stays placid as he tilts his head even closer, his lips slowly turning upwards, but on the inside I feel like crawling into a hole. Our noses are touching now, and I now know what he's been trying to tell me all along. 

 

"You're stupid," Minsoo smirks, "when it comes to love."

...

 

"Oh, screw it," I mumble before our lips meet in the sweetest, yet most passionate kiss. If it weren't for his secure hold on my waist, my knees would've buckled immediately. Minsoo smirks into the kiss while pulling me even closer to him. My wandering hands find their way to his neck, draping around him comfortably, and I realize that whatever shame or denial I had harbored for liking Minsoo has completely dissolved. Both of us stay in that position for another moment before we're forced to break apart, panting. His lips, those lips that I had dreamed of capturing with my own, are visibly more red and swollen. My eyes meet Minsoo's, and by now, I feel like that oh-so-attractive smirk is permanently plastered on his beautiful face. My hand unconsciously rises up to feel my mouth while I realize what I just did.

I've fallen in love with my best friend.

 

"How did you know?" 

 

"Know what?"

 

"That I liked you? Heck, I didn't even know I liked you until now."

 

"It's simple, really. You're practically an open book," he pokes my side and smiles.

 

"You smile a lot."

 

"It's all because of you."

 

"Ugh, the cheesiness," I plug my ears with my fingers and shake my head. "Hey, so why did you come over in the first place? I need my rest."

 

"I'm pretty sure you're awake now, am I right?" He drawls. I slap his shoulder, playfully scoffing at his ego. He exhales exaggeratedly and proceeds to tell me.

 

"Well, it was on my mind for a while. But this morning, I woke up and told myself, 'She'll be mine today. Today I'll make it my mission to ask her out.' And, well, here I am."

 

I look over at him and point out, "But you still haven't formally asked me out yet."

 

"Well, would you be my girlfriend?"

 

"No."

 

"Hey, say that again," Minsoo scoots closer to me. His hands reach out towards my midsection, and my eyes widen in the realization that he's probably about to tickle me. And boy, am I ticklish... 

A laugh escapes my lips as I scramble to get away, but Minsoo beats me to it. His strong arms snake around my waist and I can't help but lean back into his warm, welcoming embrace. 

And in that moment, I know that I'm safe.