Innocent Lips

pt. seventeen

♥

Hyunjin

It's been a few days since we nearly kissed and I still can't get it out of my mind.

I had a moment of weakness, that's for sure.

It was like an invisible rope was pulling me towards her, she was like an Aphrodite and I couldn't control myself.

I wanted to kiss her so bad and I would've if Felix didn't ruin the entire moment. For the first time, I actually hated him for a minute but then I remembered I nearly kissed his sister and I felt guilty.

That's the whole reason I need to stay away.

Even though Felix is completely blind to how me and Florence act around each other, I can't do that to my best friend. I promised a long time ago I wouldn't do that to him and I can't break that promise. Even if I really want to.

Today is Friday and I'm so happy the week is over, I only had one class today so I'm not as tired as I usually would be. Right now, I'm in the café Florence works at and actually studying for a test I have coming up.

I say studying, more like just admiring the girl I've had on my mind only a few feet away.

She has a smile on her lips when she greets the customers and they only remind me of how I almost put mine on them.

"Who you spying on?" Minho's voice in my ear makes my body jump out of my skin. He chuckles with a smirk on his lips at my reaction.

"N-no one." I stutter like an idiot, my heart racing from that unnecessary scare.

"Hmm, sure." his smirk is still there when he sits on the chair opposite me. "What are you doing here? I've never seen you study in the five years of knowing you." he chuckles and then takes a bite of his sandwich.

I sigh, rubbing my temple with my fingers. "I have an important test coming up and I have nothing else to do so why not." I shrug and watch him narrow his eyes at me. "What?" I question my friend's weird behaviour.

"So you're definitely not here for the barista at the counter?" he asks and I feel my face heat up. "Hah, caught you." he smugly smiles which annoys me.

"Shut up." I grit through my teeth which just amuses him even more. "I came here to get a distraction and it clearly was a shit idea." I huff and shut my textbook, shoving it in my backpack.

Minho thinks for a moment, chewing on his sandwich, before his face lights up. "Hey, you still dance right?" he randomly asks.

I nod, a confused frown on my face from the random question. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, there's a dance studio just down the road. Why don't you go there to take your mind off of things." he suggests and I nod, considering it.

I haven't danced in years but it's worth a go.

"Why do you need a distraction anyway? Did something happen?" he then asks and my mind goes back to that night. I feel my face heat up again and I lower my head to hide it.

"Um, yeah. Kinda." I admit, scratching the back of my neck with my hand.

Minho leans in, giving me the hint to tell him and I sigh. "I... I nearly kissed Florence." I tell him and he drops his sandwich on his plate, mouth wide open.

He stays frozen for a second before jumping in his chair, a big grin on his face. "What?!" he practically screams and I look around making sure no ones looking.

"Will you stop screaming?" I whisper shout and he calms down, clearing his throat. 

"I'm calm." he says but then smacks my arm repeatedly. "How? When? What happened? What do you mean 'maybe'?" he rushes out and I cover my face with my hands.

"Min, you have to promise me you won't tell a soul. Swear on your life." I warn and he nods. "I mean it." I give him a look and he nods again, holding his pinky up.

"I promise, Jinnie." he says and I wrap my pinky around his.

"It was Wednesday night, I couldn't get to sleep and I heard Flo come in. She was trying to get paracetamols from the cupboard but they were too high so I got them for her and... I apologised and then I don't know I just felt like I needed her in that moment so... I leaned in but she didn't push me away and I was so close to actually kissing her but Felix walked in and ruined it all." I ramble and sigh straight afterwards.

Looking at Minho for his reaction, I can tell he's surprised but he's not saying anything which makes me worry. "Why aren't you saying anything?" I ask and he just grins.

"So I was right." he finally says and I roll my eyes.

"Right about what?"

"You liking Florence." he answers, continuing to eat his sandwich.

"Don't start this, Min." I run my hands down my face, feeling annoyed already.

"Jinnie, listen to me." he says in a serious voice which scares me a little. He gives me a warning look and I nod, telling him I'm listening.

"It's okay to have feelings, they're normal. You can't magically stop liking someone because you're scared." he says and my face softens, knowing he's right. "I admit, I was scared when I first started to like Jisung. I was never in a relationship before him so I was bricking it. But... he showed me it's okay to fall for someone. To love someone. He showed me I could trust him which made me fall for him even more. Jinnie, I was just like you — apart from the past relationship part obviously — but I can hand on heart tell you that there's nothing to be afraid of." he softly smiles and my heart does a weird thing.

"You know me, I can tell when someone's off or if they're a genuine person and I know for a fact that Florence is perfect." he then says and butterflies erupt in my stomach. "I've know her for what? Three weeks and I can already tell she wouldn't dare hurt you. So, consider it Jinnie... because taking the risk was the best thing I could have ever done."

When the words sink in, I feel my eyes gloss over. No ones ever given me advice like this before and I kind of like it. I definitely needed to hear this.

But then something pops into my mind. "What about Felix?" I whisper and he raises an eyebrow.

"What about him?" he says. "He's twenty now and she's eighteen, we're not kids anymore. He doesn't control her, Jinnie. It's her choice who she's in a relationship with, not his." he speaks the truth and I lower my head to look at my hands on the table.

"But she hates me Min... what I said to her was unforgivable. How could she ever love me?" I tell him and his face softens.

"You were in a bad place back then. Explain to her, tell her why you did what you did. Tell her you didn't mean a thing... show her she can trust you." he says.

"How?"

"By telling her the truth."