After literature class had ended, I quickly ran out of the room, trying to avoid Jongin throughout the rest of the classes which we happened to have together.

     “Hey Nara,” Sooyoung tapped me on the shoulder and I jumped a little. 

     “Oh hi Sooyoung.” I nodded and we walked to the cafeteria. I cautiously looked around for any sign of Jongin.

       A tall guy suddenly appeared in front of us and I recognized who he was. 2nd year, Park Taehwan- a basketball player one year younger than us. “Can I talk to Sooyoung quickly?” he asked. I left, but I curiously looked behind me. He was holding a flower in his hand and gave it to Sooyoung who gave it back to him. He’s confessing, I realized and Sooyoung’s rejecting him. All of a sudden, I felt really bad for him, getting disregarded for his love for Sooyoung. I know it wasn’t her fault that she liked Suho, but I still felt pity when I saw him walk away dejectedly.

       I could never confess to a guy I liked. It’s something I could just never do, mostly because of the biggest fear, rejection. It takes a lot of guts to confess and I respected those who had the courage. But then I wondered, what does it feel like to receive a confession? I had never gotten a confession before, but I think it would be pressuring and burdensome if you didn’t like that person.

      Suddenly, Jongin appeared next to me, interrupting my thoughts. “What are you thinking so deeply about?” 

     “Confessions.” I blurted out. Then my mind came to realize, "Wait! it's you-" I screeched, pointing my finger and quickly jumped away.  He raised an eyebrow. "Sorry," I blushed at my rash behavior, "it's just.. I just.. I was trying to avoid you." I came out bluntly.

     "Why?" he asked not in a hurt way, but just curious. 

     I focused on his light brown hair as I talked, "Because you found out my secrets. I know you probably won't tell anyone about them, but I just don't like feeling vulnerable, knowing that someone knows a part of me that I want to hide," I managed to squeeze out, nervously wringing my fingers.

    Jongin nodded with a thoughtful look, "I understand."

    "You do?"

   "But you don't have to avoid me," he said. "I don't bite," he joked. But in a more serious tone, he said, "In fact, I'd like us to be friends and since we're neighbors, I don't think your avoiding plan will work." He shrugged his shoulders with a warm smile. And looking sincerely into my eyes, he said, "It's not cowardly or weak to ask for help. Asking for help is brave."

    I stared at him. All these years, I had been depending on myself, learning to trust no one but myself since my mom had left. But now Jongin was telling me the words my heart had secretly yearned for all along. Maybe he was right, maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask for help.

   Jongin suddenly changed the subject, "So, confessions," he said playfully, "have you received any?"    

   “Umm.. no. Not really” I confessed as I looked to the ground.

     “Really? I’ve received at least 20 at my old school.” he said smirking and I wondered if he was lying. But probably not- judging from the reactions he was getting from the girls at my school. The bell rang.

  "What's your next class?" I asked him as students bustled by, trying to get to the last class of the day.

 "Biology."

   "Oh, we have different classes. I have math. Okay, well bye," I said and waved to him. I wasn't sure if I was happy I had a different class from him because I didn't have to avoid him anymore, but I still felt slightly uncomfortable with how friendly he was and how much he knew about me already.

  After my math class ended,  I packed my backpack and went next door to my home room class. It was my turn to clean the classroom today so I picked up a broom and started swiping the floors. After meticulously wiping the whiteboard, I stepped back to admire my handiwork. I checked the time and saw that 20 minutes had passed since school ended. 
"I think this is good enough," I said to myself as I picked up my backpack and  stepped into the hallways. The classrooms and school were almost all empty, except for a few clubs and teams that had after school meetings. I saw Jongin standing at the end of the hallway. He seemed to be waiting for someone as he looked around and tapped his feet. I slowly walked towards the exit, wondering why he was still at school. As he looked up, he saw me and waved energetically. 
   "Why are you still at school? It ended 20 minutes ago." I said as I walked by him. 
   "Waiting for you," he replied, looking at me straight in the eyes. I stopped in my tracks.
   "But everyone else already left." I said with a confused expression on my face. 
    "So? Let's go." He said and walked out the door. I stared after him, a subtle, but warm feeling spreading across my chest.

2 Timothy 1:7

Thank you guys for subscribing! Hope you all like the story so far! I made a few changes to ch. 1 and 2 so please go back and read them if you don't want to get confused XD Thank you! <3