PLAYGROUND [park sunghoon]

11

"that would be $5.99." the cashier said. two bottles of soju. clearly jia wasn't in the right state of mind. her first drinking would be because of a heartbreak she instantly wanted to erase.

jia payed up, sighing if this is a good idea. but decided to do so since the convenience store was nearby her apartment.
-
as jia already drank one bottle of soju, opening another one. the bittersweet taste, rushing in your throat, burning liquid alcohol. the moment it touched her lips, she couldn't stop.

"you're such a great best friend."

"thanks for being my friend."

"we've been friends since we were in diapers!"

"duh i'm your best friend!"

best friend. best friend. best friend. those two words jia hated. "am i just a best friend to him?" jia teared up, throwing up the empty soju body somewhere the bushes, felt like she wasn't being herself.

"why me?!" jia then to sob uncontrollably with her hands covering her puffy red eyes from the tears. she felt like she was being suffocated.

"did he feel nothing? was i the only one catching feelings?" jia kept crying while lowering her head.

sunghoon came out from the apartment, walking like a penguin to see jia.

sunghoon was shocked to see a crying jia right in front of him. "she wants a hug." sunghoon first thought

as he went closer to jia, he opened his arms wide open, pouting, seeing jia crying loudly.

"how will i explain this to your brother?" sunghoon joked, catching the attention of jia.

jia stopped her sluggish walking to see a sunghoon's arms opened, for a hug.

jia cried again and to ran sunghoon who instantly hugged her.

jia cried on sunghoon's chest as sunghoon rubbed her soft, straight hair, hushing her down quietly.

sunghoon held jia close to him as he went to the bench for jia to sit down and catch her breath.

"he doesn't even like me back!" jia started screaming out of nowhere, making sunghoon lightly jump.

"is that alcohol?" sunghoon questioned as he smelled jia's breath that smelled like alcohol.

jia then started to sob again. she was clearly drunk.

she then started to poke sunghoon's shoulder multiple times even sunghoon lowered her fingers to prevent her to keep coming. "you know." jia said.

"i was a fool to like him for eight years...." jia sluggishly said. then she started to laugh. sunghoon was genuinely worried.

"but yet again i'm the only person catching feelings!" jia said. "if only someone liked me back then i would be happy!" jia cried again. sunghoon looked at her, weirdly. he raised an eyebrow.

"to him i was just his best friend and my mind trying to convince that he likes me back BUT-" jia dramatically raises her hand at sunghoon.

"there's also this boy i'm talking to.." jia poked at sunghoon's chest. he froze. was she referring to him?

"he's pretty cute i have to say.." sunghoon widened his eyes to hear that. "jia you're drunk." sunghoon reassured.

"don't drunk people say their honest thoughts?"sunghoon gasped. jia did find sunghoon attractive.

"i mean i like him too but i'm scared that i will rejected AGAIN!" jia put her hands in her face, screaming.

sunghoon blinked multiple times. "like him too?"

"like who?" sunghoon asked. jia sluggishly smiled at sunghoon and placed herself on his lap. sunghoon froze at what the girl did.

jia gasped and touched sunghoon's sharp jawline. "i like park sunghoon." jia said while rubbing her finger across sunghoon's jawline. and those were the last words of jia as she fell asleep.

sunghoon held his breath to prevent himself from screaming.

"jia?" sunghoon saw jia's finger fall from his jawline.
"jia???" he poked jia's finger harshly. sunghoon cursed himself.

but somehow he didn't mind. after being drunkly confessed to, he didn't mind.

she saw jia's puffy, red cheeks from the alcohol and her soft skin shining from the lights of the lampposts. sunghoon poked jia's lips and smiled.

"i like you too jia."