Donghae’s POV

“Then would you like to go out with me?”

Her face fell into shock.  Both her eyes widened as big as Pluto…not the dog, okay?

“I-I…I don’t know what to say…” She stammered, still fixed into her shocked expression.

“Then how about saying ‘yes’?” I suggested while bringing her limping hands to my face to place a kiss, but before I could do so, she had snatched them both away.

“Are you sick?!”

I frowned.

Was I cursed as a baby to never get a successful confession?  Was I condemned to a fate where people I confess to will always doubt me?  Is it in my destiny to be born to this world alone, and die alone?!

“No.  I’m being serious here.”

My answer only seemed to make her shock grow more.  After a rapid shaking of her head, she pointed an accusing finger at me and screamed, “You are not my oppa!”

Oh, so it’s either I’m lying…or I’m not myself.

With a deep sigh, I held down her finger and looked at her straight in the eye.

“I’m Donghae.  Lee Donghae.  Your ‘Jagiya’.” I almost grimaced at the silly term of endearment she used for me.

When she finally calmed down and looked convinced, I decided to ask her again, just in case I get a different reaction.

“So…would you like to go out with me?”

She seemed hesitant for a second, glancing around while in thought, before finally smiling sweetly at me.

I took it as a positive sign and waited eagerly for her answer once she opened .

“No way.”

What?!

“I don’t want to go out with you, Lee Donghae.” She stated firmly before nodding triumphantly as if she had done something great.

“Why?” I finally managed to utter from my shock.  “I thought you liked me?  I like you, too!” Just not as much as Eunhyuk…

She shook her finger in front of me while making clicking sounds with her tongue.

“Jagiya, you’re really clueless.”

No way…

“Don’t tell me you’re Eunhyuk’s cousin, too!” I bellowed at her with a mixture of annoyance and shock.

How many people is he related to, anyway?!

“What?  No.  We’re just classmates…and neighbors.  I told you that before.” She explained with a laugh, while I released a breath of relief.

“Then why are you rejecting me?” I looked at her again with a serious expression.

“Believe me, I don’t want to.  Maybe you should try asking me tomorrow, I might’ve already changed my mind then.”

I frowned in annoyance.  She was having the time of her life teasing me.

“Oppa…” She shook my arm lightly

“What?” I was back at my aggravated tone before facing her.  She placed her hand back on my own before speaking again.

“I hope you don’t misunderstand.  I’m actually deliriously happy from hearing that you like me.  I was almost convinced that this is real.”

“But it IS real.” I whined when she gave a stern look at me again.  I wasn’t used to this side of Jessica.

“No oppa.  I know you’re still hurting.  But what is a single rejection compared to a thousand reasons of loving a person?”

I bit my lip while listening quietly to her words.  After all, she was the master of confessions and possibly unrequited love because of me.

“I didn’t give up when you rejected me a few years ago.  Instead, I tried harder.  Don’t you remember how I sneaked in to the school’s publishing office just to make the entire school know of my love?”

We both smiled in recollection.  It was an embarrassing experience for me to see my name in big bold letters at the front page of the school paper, with the words ‘I love you’ from Jessica.  She seemed proud of it, though.

“You rejected me that time, too.” She pointed out with a smile.  “I also tried posting a banner at the school entrance before, but you had rejected me before I could even do it.”

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled.  I didn’t even notice how much effort she placed just to make her love recognized.

“Don’t be.  I’m still busy coming up with my next move.” She cackled evilly before returning back to her usual smile.

“You know what I think?”

“Frankly, I don’t think I want to know.” I replied teasingly, earning a slight shove from her.

“Anyway, all I’m saying is, you shouldn’t give up.  Confess to him once a day if that’s what it takes until he believes you.”

“I can’t possibly do that.” I frowned.

“Of course you can!  You’re my ‘Jagiya’!” She beamed proudly at me, “My ‘jagiya’ is the best!”

“If he still won’t budge, you can always borrow some of my ideas.”

I chuckled slightly at what she was suggesting.  She could be scary if she wanted to be.

“Just tell him every day.  I’m sure he’ll believe you.  And if he doesn’t feel the same way, I’m sure he appreciates it at least.”

I gave her a smile while she squeezed my hand in a supporting gesture.

“By the way…” She grabbed something from her pocket. “I wasn’t able to leave these cookies at your front door last weekend.  Saranghaeyo, Donghae-oppa!”

After handing me the small package of heart-shaped cookies and flashing her bright smile, she stood up and left.  And I realized that she just confessed to me again.

..--..--..

Jessica is right.

I shouldn’t care less that Eunyuk had already rejected me.

Well, he didn’t exactly reject me…instead, he simply didn’t believe in me.

It’s the same thing anyway.

But it wasn’t the end.

There was no rule saying I could only confess once.

I should be strong about this.

I can’t let those girls get him without putting up a fight.

He is MY Hyukkie!

“Why are you talking to yourself?” Sora asked while placing a plate of freshly baked strawberry cookies in front of me.  I just flashed her a thankful smile before shaking my head as if to tell her to ignore me.

Once again, I was back at Eunhyuk’s place.

I honestly never thought I’d be back here any time soon.  No, I actually thought I’d never be here ever again.  But after plucking up enough courage, here I am, waiting for the person that would most likely reject me for the second time.

Aish!  Think positive, Donghae!  Happy thoughts!  Happy thoughts!!!

I slapped both my cheeks slightly to maintain my focus, and to wake up the sleeping nerves in my body.

I needed every bit of neurons to help me through the encounter.

“Noona, are you baking cookies again?”

I froze on my seat once I recognized the voice from the door.  I knew that in a few steps, Eunhyuk would already notice me in their living room.

Step

Step

Step

Step

“What are you doing here?”

I turned to face him with a smile similar to a person suffering from diarrhea.  “Hi, Eunhyuk.”

“Why are you even back here?” he surprised me by sitting on the single arm chair on the opposite end of the room, instead of walking away.

No.  This wasn’t part of the plan.

I looked at him in slight panic while he stared questioningly at me.

Before I came here, I’ve already envisioned how things would go.

First he’d ask what I was doing here

Yep, he did that.

Then I’d greet him back with a smile

Got that covered.  The smile was horrible but it’ll do.

THEN!  He would walk away and ignore me completely while I follow him up the stairs.

I would grab his arm and I would profess my eternal love for him before kissing him like a beast…then we’ll live happily ever after!

Just like the movies!

And I was the macho man in the relationship, mind you.

“Uhm…” I mumbled while I silently regret not coming up with plan B.  “These cookies are really good.” I pointed randomly at the plate of cookies.

He raised his eyebrows at me but kept silent. I must look like a big idiot now.

“Actually, I…uhhh….” I tried to start again.

It sure sounded easy when I planned it in my head, but now I don’t even know where to start.

Maybe I should start with a romantic quote?

Or I could break out into a random love song?

I continued racking my thoughts of ideas when his voice caught my attention back.

“Wouldn’t your girlfriend be looking for you?” he frowned at me.

Girlfriend?

What girlfriend?

“I have a girlfriend?!” I frowned while trying to remember when did THAT happen.

Was he talking about my girlfriend during middle school?

“We broke up years ago.” I answered him confusedly but his frown only deepened.

“Liar.”

Oh great.  I’m a ‘liar’ again.

I controlled the urge to roll my eyes, and instead, I focused my glare at him.  With my previous nervousness now gone, I had finally confronted him.

“I don’t really understand you, but I’m telling you the truth.  Why do you always call me a liar, anyway?” My voice escalated slightly in annoyance

“Stop lying to me.  I just saw you with her this morning.” His lips had formed a straight line, while his scowl looked darker than before.

He saw me with her?!

“How could you even see me with her when she’s already migrated to Canada?!” I already stood up in anger at his absurd accusation.

“Are you guys fighting?”

We both faced the worried Sora, who must’ve heard our shouting from the kitchen.

“No, we’re not.” Eunhyuk sighed before casting me a look.  I nodded in agreement and forced a smile at her, only slumping myself back at the chair after she left.

We both remained silent.

I was still grumbling and he looked like he was deep in thought.  After a while, he finally spoke.

“Why do you keep lying to me, Hae?”

His voice broke and it was almost inaudible, but I was able to catch his words.  Ignoring the fuzzy feeling that I got from hearing him calling me ‘Hae’ again, I looked back at him straight in the eye.

“I’m not lying.”

I’ve given up asking him for an explanation.  Maybe all I should do was state the fact that there was no way I’d lie to him about anything.  Heck, I’ve already told him my feelings before!  What else could I hide from him?

“I overheard your conversation with that blonde girlfriend of yours last time.  Stop denying it.” He sighed once again.

Blonde girlfriend?

“Are you talking about Jessica?” I furrowed my eyebrows in question.  He doesn’t even know the name of his own classmate?

“Yeah.  That girl from my class.  I saw you with her this morning, too.” He frowned.

I almost wanted to laugh my head off if it weren’t inappropriate at the moment.  He thought Jessica and I are dating?!

Well, maybe I did try to ask her out this morning…but that wasn’t the point!

-Flashback-

“If you still don’t believe me, then I have no choice but to confess again.”

“Stop this.” I took my hands away from her and faced the front only to have them grabbed again by her.

“No, oppa.  I won’t be able to sleep well unless I tell you how I feel.”

“Fine.  Fine.  I believe you.” I pulled my hands away, but she already had a good grip on them.

“Then do you accept me?”

“Yes. I accept you.  Now can you let go?” I sighed, glad that she finally decided to let go of my arms.  But since it was Jessica, she suddenly wrapped her arms around me in joy.

“Hey.  Don’t get too close!  People could misunderstand!” I struggled in pushing her away until she finally let go.  “Oppa, saranghae.”

“I know, I know.” I answered nonchalantly while swatting her prying hands away.

-End of flashback-

Ohhhhh…

So someone DID misunderstand…

With an erratic heartbeat, I turned to face him again, dismissing the scowl that he still wore.

“You’ve mistaken.  She’s just a friend….AND DON’T CALL ME A LIAR AGAIN.” I muttered in annoyance as soon as I saw his mouth open.  He could’ve said something else but since he closed his mouth, I knew I nailed it.

I gave him time to think about it.  Time for him to finally believe me.  It was frustrating but necessary if I wanted to confess to him again and not end up as brutally wounded as before.

“Then can you say it again?”

“Which one?”  I asked dumbly.  “My explanation about my relationship with Jessica?” Why would he even want to hear that again?

“No.  Not that.” He shook his head before beaming his gummy smile.

The same smile that made me fall in love with him, among other reasons.

“Then which one?” I questioned, my eyes not leaving his smile.

“Your confession.”

Chapter 22 =_=