Chapter 17

"Chapter 17"

"After he confessed, the Ferris wheel returned to the ground and we both got off. I didn't say anything, I was still trying to process the whole situation, and before I came to a conclusion, Taehyun turned to me and suggested we just went home for the day." It got silent on the phone while Yoo Jin stared into the wall, holding her breath.

"And?" said Chaeyeong finally, allowing Yoo Jin to breathe again, "did you reject him?"

"Yes… I think so," said Yoo Jin, "I haven't spoken to him since."

"Wait a second…" said Chaeyeong, as if she suddenly realized something, "when was this?"

"Um…" said Yoo Jin, dragging the word, "a little over a week ago."

"And you haven't spoken to him since? No, that is not what's important, you are only just telling me now?" The last sentence was spoken with anger and Yoo Jin gulped.

"I know, I know, I should have told you earlier, but I just didn't know how to say it.

"And what do you mean you 'think' you rejected him, either you did or you didn't."

"I did! I did… of course I did… I am not crazy…" hurried Yoo Jin and said.

"Alright… then what is the problem?" asked Chaeyeong.

"As I said, I haven't spoken to him since. Yeonjun said he was spending time with his family over the holidays, so that explains why he didn't come over, but I am a little scared he has been avoiding me," explained Yoo Jin, "School started today and I am supposed to tutor him in the afternoon. I just… I have no idea how to face him."

"I see," said Chaeyeong and went silent for a minute, "make sure to treat him gently, he is probably going to be a mess after getting rejected by his crush."

"You are right, I will be careful," said Yoo Jin, "anyways, how have you been lately?"

"Me? I am fine…" said Chaeyeong but her voice cracked halfway through and Yoo Jin immediately felt suspicious.

"Chaeyeong, don't lie to me," said Yoo Jin, "just tell me the truth." Yoo Jin stayed silent, giving Chaeyeong time to gather enough strength to speak her mind.

"Life… really just sucks," said Chaeyeong in a hoarse voice, forcing the words to come out even though she nearly broke down in the process.

While listening to Chaeyeong speak about her job and her family obligations, Yoo Jin's heart dropped, knowing there was no way for her to help her friend. All she could do was continue telling Chaeyeong everything would be alright, but Yoo Jin didn't even know if she believed that herself.

Maybe destiny simply decided whom it wanted to be kind to, and whom it wanted to suffer. For so long, Yoo Jin had been telling herself everything would be alright, but nothing turned out that way. For how long was she going to wait? For how long was Chaeyeong going to suffer in such a work place? Nobody knew, but it felt horrible being unable to change one's situation.

"Chaeyeong, I think I just heard Yeonjun downstairs, the boys must be home from school," said Yoo Jin, feeling bad she had to cut their conversation short.

"That is fine, just hurry up and go," said Chaeyeong.

"Sorry, I will call you tonight," said Yoo Jin.

"I have to work late, I will just call you up when I have time," said Chaeyeong and Yoo Jin said fine and hung up the phone. 

It hadn't been more than a second since she shut off her phone and put it in her pocket, before she heard a knock on the door and Taehyun entered, smiling just as brightly as he always did.

"Hi Noona!" said Taehyun in high spirits, walking past Yoo Jin, towards the desk where he usually studied, "did you have fun over the holidays?"

"Um… yeah… I guess…" said Yoo Jin, staring at the boy in front of her, "what about you?"

"Me? I had fun," said Taehyun, who had turned around to look at Yoo Jin while talking, but he soon after turned back around and sat down at the table.

I guess he is fine, thought Yoo Jin to herself before walking over to Taehyun, beginning the session. But the longer they studied, the more Yoo Jin's curiosity grew. 

There was absolutely no change in his behavior towards her. He smiled and laughed and complained about math being too hard for the human brain to fathom. The only thing he didn't do, was sketching anything on his notebook or sneaking glances at her, when she thought he didn't notice. 

Did I dream it? thought Yoo Jin while sitting on her bed, watching Taehyun deeply focused on the problems she had given him.

After feeling her mind starting to go crazy, Yoo Jin took out her phone and quickly texted Chaeyeong. 

Yo, I thought you said he would be a mess, but he's acting strangely normal

Really? Maybe it was just a joke

A joke?

Yeah, I mean, he's only 17, teenagers makes all sorts of jokes

While Yoo Jin was typing out another message, she was suddenly brought back to reality when someone cleared their throats, and she nearly fell off the bed in shock.

"Woah, be careful, Noona," said Taehyun and reached out to catch her, but she had already gotten back up on her own.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be spacing out like that," said Yoo Jin and a hint of redness appeared on her cheeks, "what did you want?"

"Oh, I am done with all the problems," said Taehyun with a proud smile on his face, "did you have anything else we need to go over today?" Yoo Jin stared at Taehyun in disbelief and for a short moment, she almost forgot she was supposed to answer.

"No, no that was all!" said Yoo Jin finally.

"Alright, I will go hang out with Yeonjun, then," said Taehyun and quickly packed up his things. Yoo Jin didn't move from her spot, simply watching Taehyun move past her, going towards her door.

"I will see you later," said Taehyun and waved before exiting through the door, leaving Yoo Jin behind. 

What on earth, thought Yoo Jin and exhaled before throwing herself backwards on the bed, resting her pounding head after overthinking everything.

She took out her phone again and went to her chat with Chaeyeong, quickly responding to the latest text with:

I need to investigate this matter further.

With much determination, Yoo Jin pressed send and got up from her bed. She walked out of her room and stopped for a moment to listen. She quickly heard Yeonjun's voice coming from downstairs and concluded that they boys would have to be in the living room.

The voices got louder as Yoo Jin walked down the stairs and so did the sounds from the game they were playing on the TV. Yoo Jin stopped just before the entrance to the living room, carefully looking at the behavior of the boys, without making herself too visible.

Nothing out of place was found. It seemed like a normal hangout between the two boys who were both laughing while having all their focus on the game. 

Weird, thought Yoo Jin and took a step back, but the creaking floor immediately blew her cover and Taehyun turned his head in less than a second, making eye contact with a very flustered Yoo Jin who quickly disappeared around the corner.

"Hey, Taehyun, what is going on?" asked Yeonjun when he saw Taehyun's character dying on the screen from the lack of focus from Taehyun's side.

"Sorry," said Taehyun quickly, as he turned his head back again, "I just thought I heard something."

Yoo Jin stood with her back against the wall, holding onto her chest where her heart was beating like a maniac. After a few deep breaths, she was slowly able to calm down again and she quickly went back into action. 

She had to get to the bottom of this.

But this time, Yoo Jin didn't get to watch them in secret for more than a few seconds. Taehyun was alert and he quickly felt her presence and turned around, catching her red handed again, but this time, there was no time for Yoo Jin to escape as Yeonjun had also turned around this time.

"Noona? What are you doing?" asked Yeonjun confused and Yoo Jin let out a nervous laughter, stepping forward while trying to think of a good excuse.

"Me? Oh I… I…" said Yoo Jin and then finally continued, "I just thought I would get something to drink! Yes, that is it! I was on my way to the kitchen, to get myself a glass of water." Yoo Jin felt proud of her realistic excuse and it looked like they were buying it.

"Well then, go get yourself something to drink," said Yeonjun, "stop distracting us, we are losing because of you." 

"Yeah yeah, calm down will you?" said Yoo Jin and rolled her eyes. Yeonjun just shook his head and turned around again. Taehyun did the same but a few seconds later. First he looked at Yoo Jin with an expression impossible to read and Yoo Jin felt her heart starting to beat faster again, but as soon as Taehyun turned around, it stopped.

Yoo Jin let out a sigh and walked to the kitchen. She quickly grabbed a glass from one of the cabinets and took the large bottle of water out of the fridge, starting to pour it into the glass.

Once again she felt her eyes linger, she didn't even realize she was staring at Taehyun, completely forgetting time and space, until she felt a cold liquid cover her hand and she jumped up from the shock.

Internally scolding herself, Yoo Jin looked at the small puddle of water she had made on the table and she quickly grabbed a towel and wiped it dry, along with her hand.

With the glass in her hand, Yoo Jin made one last round by the living room, before she gave up and walked back upstairs. Absolutely no suspicious behavior was seen from that boy. He was as happy and cheerful as always. It was as if nothing had happened. Did she dream it?

Or was it actually just a joke?

Yoo Jin swallowed the entire glass of water in one go and sat it on her night stand, staring into her wall with an empty look on her face. What did all this mean? And why was it getting to her like this?

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a soft knock on her door echoed in the bedroom.

"Yes?" said Yoo Jin and a second later, Taehyun stuck his head inside.

"Noona," said Taehyun, still standing halfway in, halfway out, "do you want to come and play with us? You looked like you wanted to be a part of it."

"What?" said Yoo Jin, surprised from his question, "that is not.. No…"

"Noona? Is something wrong?" Yoo Jin felt her anger and frustration getting the better of her, and in one quick motion, she grabbed Taehyun's hand, dragged him inside her bedroom and closed the door behind him.

"Is something wrong? I should be asking you that!" whisper-yelled Yoo Jin.

"What do you mean?" asked Taehyun, looking startled by Yoo Jin's action.

"That confession on the Ferris Wheel, did I dream it?" said Yoo Jin, "or was it just a joke? Because if it was, then it was a mean joke!" Yoo Jin looked at Taehyun with widened eyes, but her expression got gentler when she saw the redness appear on Taehyun's cheeks, his face looking even more flustered than before. He lowered his head, too embarrassed to keep up the eye contact.

"Of course it wasn't a joke. How… how can you even say that!" said Taehyun, his voice sounding genuine, "but since I never got a clear response from you, I didn't want you to feel pressured, so I didn't bring it up."

"Wait, what do you mean I didn't give you a clear response?" said Yoo Jin, making Taehyun look up again, "I… I am pretty sure I did."

"You just said 'this won't work'."

"Yes, that was my answer," said Yoo Jin, feeling more and more confused about the situation.

"That is not good enough for me," said Taehyun straight up, his cheeks still red, but he didn't care anymore, "I want you to say if you like me or not!"

"What?" said Yoo Jin, her heart beating faster again, "I… Taehyun, I can't date you."

"That is not what I am asking," said Taehyun, feeling slightly annoyed, "I am just asking you to say if you like me or not. I want you to tell me how you feel."

"You want me to tell you how I feel?" asked Yoo Jin, "I feel like, you are a kid who is too young to be thinking about love."

"That is not true, I turned 18 one month ago!" said Taehyun quickly, "I am not a kid anymore, I am an adult now."

"You might be an adult, but I have known you since you were 12 years old," said Yoo Jin, "I can't see you as a man." Taehyun took a step forward, surprising Yoo Jin as he was closing the gab between them, and she immediately took a step back.

"But I am a man," said Taehyun in a firm voice, "and you are avoiding my question." Taehyun took another step forward, while Yoo Jin took one back, feeling her back touch the wall.

"Tell me how you feel about me," said Taehyun, looking directly into Yoo Jin's eyes.

"I… I don't know…" stuttered Yoo Jin.

"I think you do," said Taehyun, "I think you like me too."

"What? Why would you think that?" said Yoo Jin and laughed nervously.

"You act differently around me now, than you did in the beginning," said Taehyun, "like, for example you are calling me by my name a lot lately."

"That… that is it?"

"I catch you stealing glances at me, quite often," said Taehyun with a smirk and Yoo Jin quickly looked away when she felt her cheeks heat up.

"So… So what? It doesn't matter how I feel about you," said Yoo Jin, "this, us… it would never work."

"So you do like me?" asked Taehyun, his voice filled with hope and happiness and when Yoo Jin turned her head she saw a huge smile on Taehyun's face.

"I didn't say that!"

"It was pretty obvious," said Taehyun.

"No it wasn't!"

"It was."

"ALRIGHT!" yelled Yoo Jin and surprised both herself and Taehyun, "so what if I like you. I already told you… this isn't going to w-" Yoo Jin was cut short when she felt a rush pass through her body and she suddenly realized, Taehyun's lips were touching hers. Soft and gentle, like the wings of a butterfly barely touching and before she knew it, Taehyun had drawn back again.

"Sorry… I… I couldn't stop myself…" said Taehyun and diverted his eyes, his face as red as a tomato. 

"It was probably a bad kiss too," continued Taehyun then, "I don't really have much experience… or rather, I don't really have any experience."

"No, it was nice," said Yoo Jin, not even realizing before the words had left her mouth and Taehyun looked up in joy.

"Really?" asked Taehyun, "then, can I kiss you again?" Yoo Jin was taken aback by the straight forward question and she looked at the boy in front of her, whose eyes resembled those of a small puppy.

"I… I guess…" said Yoo Jin, feeling drawn to those puppy eyes and the sight of his small soft lips. 

Taehyun leaned in again, but when his lips met Yoo Jin's, he felt himself being pulled closer as Yoo Jin wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. At first, Taehyun felt startled, but before long, he just sunk into it, pulling Yoo Jin closer with his hands on her back. For a moment, both of them forgot all about their worries and just allowed themselves to enjoy every second, because right there, right then, it felt like two puzzle pieces who fit perfectly together.

It felt right.

"What. On. Earth?" 

Yoo Jin and Taehyun pulled away from each other, slowly turning their heads to the door where Yeonjun was standing with a horror written all over his face.

"Will somebody explain to me what in heaven's name is going on here?"

Hello everyone!

I hope the amount of fluff in this chapter wasn't too much for you, in fact I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

If you did so, please leave a comment down below and let me know your thoughts. It means a lot to me.

Take good care of yourself and stay safe!

Love, Annalise~