secret for the mad - lee hoon x fem! reader

chapter four - a somewhat comfortable conversation

-MIXED POV-

You curiously looked at the message before typing out a response.

(BOLD - HOONI) (NORMAL - YOU)

"hi! let me add you to my contacts really quickly..."

"done!"

"okay. what time were you thinking for tonight?"

Hooni felt more comfortable typing with lowercase letters.

"anytime that you're comfortable with, as long as it isn't after 12 AM."

"does 9 pm sound good?"

"yes!"

Sighing in relief, Hooni was glad that the hour they decided on would give him time to prepare for more talking later. Just when he thought the conversation was done for the time being, another message appeared on the screen of his phone.

"i can't wait to talk to you about it!"

Blush dusted his cheeks, and Hooni put away his phone, feeling... happy.

--

-HOONI'S POV-

That night, when Hooni stepped into his room again, he didn't do much. He played around on his phone, ate the remaining half of the ramen cup he had made the night prior, and took a nap. His phone buzzed beside him at exactly 9:01 P.M., and it woke him up.

"hello?"

Hooni's face suddenly went red hot with embarrassment. He had slept for most of the practicing time. He didn't feel ready to talk at all! And to a girl, of all people? This was going to be a mess for sure.

"hi", he quickly typed back. His eyes watched the three little dots at the bottom, nearly sweating in nervousness.

"did you think of any ideas for what we could write?"

He hadn't. He hadn't, and he really didn't want to tell you that, so he decided to do something a bit stupid.

"yeah"

"that's great! i did too. i can go first if you want."

"okay"

Did his messages seem too insensitive? Should he try to talk with a bit of grammar, like you were doing? You didn't seem to mind, but he was worried regardless.

"i thought of three things. writing a poem, a documentary, or a letter. what about you?"

Quickly, he thought to himself. Think of something. Anything!

"a story with a happy ending."

Stupid. That sounded so stupid... They hadn't even really done much with writing stories that year. Mainly essays and poetry.

"if you want it to be a happy story, we can do that."

Oh. That wasn't so bad.

There was silence for around a minute, but Hooni's eyes once again glanced at the three dots at the bottom of his screen, wondering what you were typing next.

"i promise i won't make us do anything spectacular. i want it to be easy, too... "

He smiled a little. He was never the best writer. In fact, he didn't even know that much grammar. Although he had a developing feeling of dread inside of him, the fact that you were trying to go out of your way to make sure he was comfortable was... nice.

"thank you."

"you're welcome!"

Hooni couldn't help but feel a little smug to himself. He'd seen how most other guys would try to talk to girls in his class... All awkward, loud, flashy... Trying to impress them. But here he was, having a normal conversation without any of that.

"i know this sounds sudden, but would you like to meet up with me on saturday at that one cafe with all the ivy on the windows?"

Nevermind. All of his smugness died instantly.

His whole face went red immediately, and he felt his hands shake. This was simply a meet-up... Maybe she felt more comfortable there... But he just couldn't help but see it as what most people would think it was... A date.

Although his initial reaction was to decline the offer because of all the people that could be at the café, something inside of him egged him to say yes, and that's what he did.

"sure"

"okay! sounds like a plan."

After that, he put his phone down for a second and sat there on his bed, thinking. Just thinking about it made him feel nervous, despite it being days away. He would have to dress nicer, act polite, and would have to talk to her.

It was going to be a very long and hard time for him, but he had to admit... This text conversation had already helped him become a little more comfortable around you.

-YOUR POV-

You took in a deep breath, and finally put your phone down. You were blushing so terribly from embarrassment that you had even started to sweat. Why did talking to boys have to be so difficult? It was hard for you to talk that much for so long.

To be honest, you had know idea why you had asked if he would come with you to eat out so suddenly. You remember sitting there, getting the idea in your mind, and then asking him without putting much thought into it.

However, there wasn't a pool of dread swirling around in your stomach. You didn't feel as anxious as you thought you might've felt. Did this mean... that you wanted him to come?

You had only met Hooni for a few days... There was no way you had caught feelings for him in such a short time. You thought about Hyun-ki... That was a crush you've had for a while now.

If it wasn't attraction, then what could it be? Pity? Empathy?...

You came to the conclusion that you would find out what you felt when Hooni and you met up on that fateful day. Although you kept what Hyun-ki had said to you about Hooni in mind... You could imagine yourself becoming friends with the small boy.

Thinking about it... made you smile.