Chapter 5: Falling

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I had already stated that liking Lee Joon wasn’t an option. Thing was, it looked almost as if liking Lee Joon was my only option.

 …Well, damn you, Lee Joon.

I am not falling for you. I am not.

Saying that I couldn’t stop thinking about Lee Joon was an overstatement. I hadn’t reached that point yet. He just happened to pop up on my mind on various occasions, when something reminded me of what I had learned about him the day before. Problem was, he was popping up a lot on my mind lately. It was almost annoying.

I am not falling for you.

At work, the girls kept asking me how my ‘date’ was, and whether the challenge was going smoothly. I kept telling them that this meeting wasn’t really a ‘date’, but they just smiled knowingly. Thank God that Hye Rin’s date was also a hot topic, so the attention shifted easily to her, when I told them that it was the end of the discussion.

Only Myu Ri seemed genuinely interested about my experience, since she approached me and asked me how I felt about Lee Joon, and whether I had started to like him. Well, she was my best friend, so I kind of expected questions like that one. And I had already practiced my answer.

“Oh, no, of course not. I just do this because I have to. I certainly do not like him.” I seemed very convincing, and I knew it. What bothered me was: why did I need to sound convincing? Wasn’t I telling the truth?

Myu Ri’s lips became a thin line, and she said: “Just be careful, Lydia. Don’t play too much with his emotions.”

I felt a pang of guilt in my chest. Myu Ri was right. I was playing him. I was toying with his feelings. And yeah, I wasn’t very proud of myself.

However, I knew that Lee Joon wasn’t completely in love with me, so my guilt hadn’t intensified too much: I could still continue trying to win the bet.

I said nothing, because, well, there was not much to be said. I was wrong, and I knew it. But I was prideful, and there was no way I would let myself lose a challenge.

I returned back to the other girls, only to notice Yong Yee looking at me highly amused. “What is it?” I asked, curious about that knowing smile that she and Hye Rin shared.

“But I’m a fool that can’t live without you –what do you want me to do?” I looked at them puzzled. Was it one of their fangirling moments, and they had suddenly broke into singing?

“Are you girls okay?” I asked, but Yong Yee and Hye Rin continued to sing at the top of their lungs.  “Severely, I guess I loved you too severely, I don’t even breath and I look around for you…”

“Girls! Yah! Are you even listening?” I always hated it, when people teased me about something and I had no idea what it was.

“G.O oppa just messaged me!” Hye Rin said excitedly. “He asked me for your number. He said that Lee Joon wants it!”

I did a small victory dance (mentally, of course), before stopping. “And what does this have to do with your passionate singing?”

“Well, Lee Joon messaged you~” Hye Ring said in a sing-song voice. “I was too curious, I couldn’t help but look~” I was about to scold her, when Yong Yee joined in: “He’s just so cute! How did you manage to make him like you? I’m so jealous!”

I snatched my cell phone from their hands, to read that damn message they were talking about. My heart was beating fast, but I ignored it, as I read the few lines of the infamous text message.

Hi Lydia, this is Joon.

…I said that the next one would definitely be a date, right?

So, FT Island is having a concert tonight…

Meet me there?

It took all of my willpower to keep that stupid smile from forming on my face.

…

“That’s just stupid. I’m not doing it.” I said firmly, not caring about the hurt that appeared in his eyes.

I had arrived at the concert, making my way in before Lee Joon, who would appear later, after he would have concealed his appearance. He had come just before the beginning at the performance, a scarf and sunglasses covering his face. His smile was obvious though, no matter what.

Once the members of FT Island appeared and the concert started, I was amazed. They were really good, and I wasn’t even exaggerating. Lee Joon, excited by my enthusiastic reactions, didn’t miss his fair amount of fanboying, and soon he was pointing out the members, sharing fun facts about them, and singing at the top of his lungs their most popular songs. I was happy, actually. We were talking, laughing, having fun.

And then this had happened. “Hello Hello” had happened.

I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to do it.

Because stupid Joon, claiming that this was the key point of the choreography of that song, wanted me to extend my hand, trying to grasp thin air continually, because the choreography required it.

It wasn’t something hard or anything. I could see, from the vocalist’s –Hongki’s, as I had been informed- gestures, and Joon’s mimics of it, that it was a fairly easy move.

It looked fairly stupid to me as well.

“I won’t do it, Lee Joon.”

His concealing clothing couldn’t hide his disappointment, since his shoulders slouched and his smile faded. His movements soon came to a halt, also, and I felt guilty when I saw his hand falling lifelessly next to his body.

But I seriously couldn’t do it.

“But, it’s fun, Lyd. You should try it.” he attempted one last time, but my attention was shifted to something else.

Lyd?

I thought that I had heard it wrong at the beginning, with the music playing so loud and all, but I hadn’t. “Lyd?” I questioned him.

Lee Joon scratched his neck, looking away from me, obviously embarrassed. “Well, you said that you found your name overly romantic, so I came up with that yesterday night…” he explained, and he quickly added, alarmed: “But of course I’ll call you normally if you don’t like it! I hope I didn’t offend you or anything!”

I stared at him, still shocked. He had found me a freaking nickname. He knew me for a few days, and he had come up with a nickname for me. And not only that, but he had actually picked it carefully, taking into account what I had said about my name.

Damn… Now I knew why women fell for him.

I didn’t want to say that I liked it (because, well, I was still prideful me), but I wanted to show him that I accepted it, somehow. So when the refrain of “Hello Hello” came up, I hesitantly imitated Hongki’s movements, following the crowd around us that was doing the same.

He looked at me surprised, and I just smiled at him, getting more into that stupid movement that was stupid, but kind of… fun. He followed soon after, not able to contain himself.

I knew that he would smile back. Of course I knew that he would.

Then, why was I blown away by his smile, once again?

The song ended shortly after, only to be followed by the next one, which was a tune that I instantly recognized. It was the song that the girls had sung today at the store, when they were teasing me. It sounded much better coming from the band, I had to admit.

“That’s ‘Severely’, one of their most popular songs. It came out around 2012, I think… It’s good, isn’t it?” Joon explained happily, and I smiled at his eagerness.

“Yes, it is.” I simply answered.

We didn’t say much after that, but our lack of speech wasn’t because of awkwardness or embarrassment. Actually, it was more because of… comfort. It had been a long time since I had felt comfortable around someone I had just met, and it certainly was a nice feeling.  Why was it Joon though, the person who managed to make me feel at ease?

I was lost in my thoughts, and I was more than startled when I felt Joon’s hands against my waist, and his chin coming to rest upon my shoulder.

“But I’m a fool that only loves you –what can I do?” he sang along to the song, his breath tickling my ear.

He had never been that daring –daring enough to initiate skinship, that is, and I never thought that he would do it from our first “official” date.

My heartbeat had accelerated, and all my thoughts revolved around him. I could feel his skin against mine, I could sense his own wild heartbeat, I could smell his perfume, hear his voice against my ear. I was closer to him than ever.

And strangely, I liked it.

I really did.

“Joon?” I said, barely noticing how my voice sounded a bit raspy. “Hmm?” he waited for me to speak up, and it took all of my courage to finally say it, quietly but steadily.

“You calling me ‘Lyd’… I like it. A lot.”

In that confession, there was everything else that I was scared to admit: how I liked him, how I was attracted to him, how I was falling for him. And, while not all of that might have been apparent to him, some of it was, because he nuzzled into my neck, smiling against my skin.

I had said that I wouldn’t let myself fall for Joon, but now I realized that I never really had a choice concerning the matter:

I was already falling for him.

And, for the first time, I was okay with it.

~~~

A/N: Hello guys! It's been a long time, right? I know, I know, and I'm deeply sorry, but there are so many things going on right now in my life! But I'll update more regularly in the future, so have no fear! (However, my exams are coming up, so if I'm updating waaay too regularly, stop me please ^^) 
In all honesty, I'm not very pleased with this chapter... But I will work harder from now on. :)

The songs mentioned are "Hello Hello" and "Severely" by FT Island. Check them out if you have the time, they are awesome!

Also, I want to thank all of you who comment, subscribe, upvote, or even simply take the time to read this story! It means the world to me.
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Have a nice day~