more than a crush - Lee Juyeon

14.

I'll give your hoodie back to you on Monday.

Juyeon reread the text two more times, unsure if he was seeing things. He quickly typed out a text that said you could just give it to him when you two went to his house before he paused. That's right. There was no longer any need for you to go home with him and spend the afternoon by his side because the project was done.

In fact, your message made it seem like there was no reason for you two to keep talking to each other. He didn't understand why you suddenly seemed so eager to distance yourself from him. Was it possible that you thought of the time you spent with him as nothing more than a favor to Haknyeon?

His throat suddenly felt tight with emotion. Juyeon sincerely hoped that wasn't the case. Sure, it wasn't like he ever made his feelings for you clear, but he at least thought you two had passed the point of a mere acquaintanceship. You seemed happy to spend time with him, but there was a chance that it was nothing more than a front because Haknyeon had personally asked you to help him.

And so before Juyeon realized what he was doing, he sent you a text asking you to come over.

The route to Juyeon's house was a familiar one, but now it felt odd going down his familiar street. Maybe it was because you were very conscious of the fact that he hadn't asked you to come over because of school. You weren't sure what he wanted, but your feelings didn't allow you to think rationally and made it into something it probably wasn't.

When your motorcycle came to a slow stop, you were surprised to find Juyeon outside already waiting for you. Despite having seen him only a few hours ago, he somehow seemed different. You took your helmet off, willing yourself to stop making something out of nothing. It was increasingly difficult as he walked over to you with his cute smile in place.

"Hey." He greeted you in his usual sweet tone.

By the grace of the heavens, you managed to keep your face void of all the emotions swirling in your chest. "What's up?"

"I wanted to return this."

You hadn't noticed he had his hands behind his back until he pulled out your spare helmet and held it out in your direction. The familiar headgear seemed like something that wasn't really yours even though you knew it was. You almost told him to keep it, but you caught yourself before you could. It wasn't like he was going to keep riding with you, so why would he need it?

After you reluctantly accepted it, Juyeon surprised you by asking you to stay for dinner. You laughed his invitation off in order to keep your emotions (and yourself) in check. There was no way you could allow this one-sided crush grow any further.

"Come on," Juyeon insisted. "My mom was hoping to see you again."

Damn him. Damn these feelings you had for him. It was like he knew you could never deny him anything.