He Started It by Hitting on Me

One Small Action Can Say

"Well, someone is a very happy boy today."
The smile I tried to suppress on my face blew out into the public. "She likes me," I told Key.
He furrowed his eyes. "Who likes you?"
"Mi Young."
"Holy , oh my God. No way."
I raised an eyebrow. "Is that sarcasm I hear?" I asked. Key shrugged and leaned back in his seat. We were both in the library and it was eighth period-Key wasn't supposed to be here, since he had a class going on at this time but he made an excuse to go to the bathroom and found me when he was on his way.
"Tell me how you found out," Key wanted to know, nudging my foot with his.
"Okay, okay. This is how it went down..." I told him from when I noticed some things that were off about her, going to what had happened at my house a few days ago, and then ending it when I jumped up and down happily in my seat. "So? What do you think?" I asked Key.
"Seriously? She indirectly told you she likes you, yet whenever I pester her she keeps denying it. And I'm her best friend!" Key muttered, obviously displeased with my story.
"Yeah, but isn't that a good thing? She told me she likes me-indirectly of course, which she would have never ever done and she wanted a kiss from me, which she would have laughed about before. This means she's softened, right?"
Key rolled his eyes. "No , Sherlock." I ignored him and sighed dreamily. After a few frustrating months of holding back and not knowing the other side's feelings, I feel as if I have accomplished something for the very first time and did it right. Now that I know Mi Young's feelings are mutual, things will be easier. And less awkward for me, I think. Maybe. I smiled to myself. This is like the best thing I have ever come to known. "So when are you going to ask her out?"
I looked at Key blankly. "What?" I said.
"When are you going to ask her out? It's not as if you guys are magically together now. You still have some unfinished business, you know," Key explained and as well pointed out, causing me to be rather disappointed.
"I thought we were...already together," I whispered, the blush reddening on my cheeks.
"Oh, please. You can't be serious."
"I am! Or at least I was," I replied, closing my eyes for a brief second. Aish, you idiot. I could sense Key shaking his head disapprovingly. I ran a hand through my hair. "So what am I supposed to do, then?" I asked, wanting advice.
"Well, the logical thing for a person to do is to ask the other out on a date."
Oh, well duh.
I blinked. I opened my mouth to say, "Right. So all I have to do is ask her out, right?" Key nodded slowly. "And what if she says no?" I asked.
"Then you're screwed," Key answered casually.
I jutted my lower lip out. "I don't want her to say no," I mumbled, kicking the floor lightly. Key patted my shoulder from across the table.
"She won't say no because she likes you back. See how easy it becomes when you take one and one together and make two?" he smiled sarcastically, nodding to see if I would understand. At first I didn't-I was trying to figure out what he had said to me. I scrunched my nose. "You're trying to say is that...she'll go out with me?" I questioned.
"Oh my God, yes, stupid. I wonder why Mi Young would even develop feelings for you," Key insulted me, leaning back in his seat.
"Yah! It's because she finally came to her senses and realized I'm her only knight in shining armor," I sniffed proudly, feeling all mighty myself.
Key gave out an amused snort. "It would be hilarious if Mi Young really did think of you that way. Just imagine you on a horse and Mi Young in a princess outfit. Now wouldn't that be a show," he commented, chuckling a bit after. I tried to think of something to retort back, but all I could do was develop a pink tinge around my face. Key laughed at my embarrassed expression until I told him to shut up. The bell rang after then, and we both exited out of the library as we bickered on. By the time we were around the hall, my science room came into view.
Key's hand slapped my back in a rather comforting way. "Go get her, Jonghyun. When she says no, Onew's chicken supply will be ready," he said, as if it were supposed to help me in any way at all. He slapped his forehead. "Ugh, now I have to return this stupid pass," he muttered. He left me as he walked away the opposite direction. I went on ahead and inside the last class of the day, and in there I found Mi Young sitting at her desk, looking directly at me. I guess she didn't realize I was coming in, so her eyebrows rose and she quickly looked the other way. I smiled mentally. And it begins.
I took a seat down next to her and put my bag on my lap. "Hi," I greeted her for the second time: I did say we had science twice a day. She nodded her head at me.
"Hey," she replied. It was silent for a few seconds after she had spoken. We stared at each other for that time. A smile slowly crept onto my face. "Oh God," she said, turning to the front.
"What? What did I do?" I feigned innocence, blinking frequently.
"You did this yesterday and last period we had science; you're going to make me feel uncomfortable again," she explained, though I knew exactly what I was doing. I nudged her shoulder playfully.
"Come on, you know you like the attention," I teased.
"From you? Not really."
"You're going to make me cry."
"Who's stopping you?"
"You won't like it when I cry."
"I dare you to do it."
"..."
"Thought so," Mi Young sniffed, leaning back in her seat. I let my pride eat a part of itself. One down, three more parts to go. I sat up straight in my seat.
"Actually, I have something to tell you, if you don't mind me asking," I announced to her.
She raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" she asked.
"Okay, well, it's kind of hard but...will you-"
"Turn to page 324," Professor Cheung interrupted, coming into the classroom.
"I'll tell you later," I muttered sheepishly, looking at my textbook. Two down, two more to go.
Class dragged on for forty minutes worth of a period. I tried to get Mi Young's attention by whispering incoherent words, but Professor Cheung would always glance in our direction and wait for me to shut up. I circled a pencil around my textbook several times after giving up to talk to Mi Young. Three parts gone, just one more left.
When the period was finally over, I didn't pack up quickly. I stalled some time as I waited for Mi Young to finish packing. As soon as she was done, I followed after her as she exited class. "Hey," I called out to her, poking her shoulder.
"What."
"Hi."
"Shut up."
"Why were you so nice to me before? Now you just changed completely," I said, sighing.
"You make me irritated now," she answered, walking faster. I jogged a bit to catch up to her.
"What do you mean? I act like myself," I defended, furrowing my brow.
"You're just...just...you know...forget it," Mi Young mumbled, waving her hand carelessly.
"No, I won't forget it. Tell me," I urged her to go on by poking her shoulder. She jerked her shoulder back and shot me a look. She went on walking. I walked behind her as I poked her countless times. "Tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me," I repeated over and over again. I said it several times that I began singing Wonder Girls' Tell Me. "Tell me, tell me, te-te-te-te-te tell me," I sang.
"Shut up, you're ing annoying!" she barked, swatting my finger away and practically running away. I ran after her.
"Tell me your wish!" I exclaimed. Students stared at us weirdly but didn't make any comment. They couldn't anyway, since we were running for a marathon. We ran out of the school and out of the gates that held the school's property, and into the little shops and mall district. We didn't really call names over there, but when we came to our familiar suburban neighborhood, the yelling began once again. "Yah, stop! I want to ask you something!" I told her. My lungs were burning as my legs pumped toward her.
"What if you're lying?" she called back.
"I promise I'm not. Trust me, my legs are killing me now," I mentioned, losing breath as we ran further. She ran for a moment longer, but her legs staggered to a halt. She found her balance and I stopped behind her a few feet away. I tried to regain breath as I held onto my knees. Mi Young was freely panting, fanning herself with her hand. I squeezed my eyes for a second and let my heart go back to its usual rate. "Okay, okay..." I got up from my bent position and I exhaled loudly. "Okay. I'm done now," I informed her.
"Great," she responded flatly. I wiped the perspiration falling down the side of my forehead.
"So..."
"Yeah?" The sun shone in her face, causing her to squint.
"How do I make you irritated?"
"I knew you would ask me that."
"No, but seriously! Why?"
"Well, ugh, because..." She folded her arms and looked at the floor. "You did those things to me at your house," she spoke in an undertone.
"Oh, is that all?" I laughed. "You're unhappy because I didn't finish what I started?"
"No," she snapped.
"Then?"
She didn't say anything, for she had nothing to say. I smirked. "I knew it."
Mi Young rolled her eyes and turned on her heel. "Whatever, I'm leaving," she concluded, walking away. I was about to let her go before I realized I had something crucial to say to make things right.
"Will you go out with me?" I asked. Soon after, Mi Young stopped in her tracks and let a few moments pass by. I was still regaining breath and my legs were excruciatingly sore. I wiped the remaining sweat on my forehead with my forearm. Her back was still faced towards me, and she didn't seem to be moving except the wind blowing in her hair. I thought she wasn't expecting this and was possibly trying to think of a way to say either yes or no to me. I thought of many possibilities. She could turn around and run in my arms, screaming, "yes" over and over. She could turn around and laugh at me, then end it with a flat out "no". Or she could walk away and pretend nothing had happened. Either way my pride will soon devour itself and nothing will be left. However, things went a bit differently.
She did turn around, that was a fact, but only to a certain extent. She looked over her shoulder and stared at me with a blank expression. Mi Young gave me a small smile-an innocent, kindhearted smile that lasted for a moment that seemed more like a minute to me. She then turned around to walk her way back home. I processed of what she just did, wondering why she did it, and became aware what she had tried to say.
I smiled to myself, a wide grin taking its place on my face. My courage level went back to where it started, as the confidence and happiness flourished inside me. I turned around to walk back home, singing incoherently under my breath, and thought of Mi Young's smile.