Splash of Love | j.hs au

Chapter 10

So this is what a shopping center looks like! You gazed in wonder as there were many stores that housed different things. It was fun! You came across the word "shopping center" in the notes and once you read about it, you just had to go check it out. Now here you were, exploring the place. There were many stores filled with clothes, some play areas and oh wow, there was a food court! Your stomach growled but you'll stop by later to grab something. For now, you continued wandering around.

In the ocean, your only "clothes" were seaweed crafted by talented mermaids. It was just interesting to see all the types of clothes that weren't seaweed. You kept on investigating each store and after you decided your little adventure came to an end, you went back to the food.

As you neared the food, you stopped since you thought you recognized someone. Was it your imagination? You narrowed your eyes and it was Hoseok! You panicked and slipped behind a pillar. Wait, why are you hiding? Yeah, go say hi! With renewed confidence, you peered around the pillar and you spotted someone else. It was Ae Ri.

Oh. You stared at them as they sat at a table, talking about something. On land, your senses dulled a bit so all you could hear was low murmurs. Ugh. Wait no, you shouldn't be... peeping? You can't remember it but it seemed like the best word for it. You know what you should do? Walk away. But it seems that you can't move.

You were feeling some mixed emotions. Like the first one, why are you jealous? You shouldn't be! As you were contemplating, you heard their voices come closer. Huh? Why are they coming closer to you?! You let out a weird noise as you rotated to the other side of the pillar. Now that they were closer, you could now hear what they were saying.

"Thank you for giving me another chance." Ae Ri said. She sounded happy.

Another chance? You thought what it could be. Let's see... you recall your notes to see if there was any double meaning but nothing was coming to mind.

Hoseok didn't say anything - you assume that he smiled at her. "Like I said, we'll go out for a month and then it'll decide if I still love you."

What...? Your eyes widened hearing his response. They're going to... date? In your surprise state, you didn't hear Ae Ri's response. A few moments later there was silence and then you saw Ae Ri walking off.

You felt a new type of emotion swelling within you. This kind of hurts. It felt like your heart was swelling with pain. You could feel your eyes become watery. So the once happy shopping center that you thought was cool left you with an empty feeling. No you're not crying in public!

Once you got home, you just couldn't help it and started to cry. Somewhere in a more logical part of your mind, you felt like an idiot; crying over someone who you didn't even date or tell your feelings for! Just for today, you'll let your emotions out and tomorrow you'll be okay.

Today was a new day and you are not going to be emotional over this! That's right! You're experiencing the land! You did not come up to the land for some guy! Ugh, who are you kidding? Hoseok was part of the reason. So, today you're going to put on a happy face and deal with it.

Entering the flower shop, you were mildly surprised to see Jimin. Usually, he comes in the afternoon but it was the morning now. "Hi Jimin." You smiled and flickered to Hoseok. "Good morning, Hoseok." You said your usual greeting.

While Hoseok greeted you back and Jimin did as well, he turned to you with a smile. "Hey Y/N, are you willing to come with everyone to the amusement park this weekend?"

Amusement park...? "Oh! The place with the ferris wheel and stuff!" You accidentally said your thoughts out loud. Whoops.

"Exactly!" Jimin didn't care or pay attention to what you said. "Do you want to? The people you met from the bar will also be coming."

Then that means Ae Ri will be there. You're not sure how to feel. Could you stand seeing them being together? You don't think you can. "Sorry, I have other things to do." There was a better word for that but you can't remember it at the moment.

"Oh, really?" Jimin frowned. "Well next time you can come with us!" He smiled which almost brightened your mood. You sent a smile at him and went into the back to grab your apron. Although they were talking low you could make the words out.

"Well in a few months, the group wants to go on a little cruise." Jimin said. "It'll go to a nice resort on an island."

Hoseok was quiet for a moment. "Sounds okay. I'll be able to handle it."

Jimin hummed in response. "And I heard that you and Ae Ri were going out again. What's up with that? Didn't you say you didn't like her?" You perked up slightly, almost dropping the apron to the ground. You held your breath to hear whatever words came out of his mouth.

A sigh left Hoseok. "I mean I still care about Ae Ri as a friend but when she asked me, I kind of felt bad? I know that I was the one to break up with her but there was just sadness. I don't know how to explain it."

You're not sure how to process the information. Did this mean you still have a chance? Maybe...

Jimin huffed. "Then why are you going out with her? You're only going to make things worse if you do this."

"Yeah." Some movement occurred. "But you should have seen Jimin. Ae Ri almost started to beg and she was already crying. I felt empathy that I couldn't say no. Don't worry, I'll break up with her today."

You bit your lip. If what Hoseok says is true, then you have a chance again. And you won't let this one slip by you.

"You better." Jimin replied then gasped quite loudly. "Ah, I'm almost late to class! Bye hyung and bye Y/N!" He practically screamed the last part of his sentence for you to hear. You did the same and smiled to yourself. No matter what, you'll confess your feelings to Hoseok!

With renewed energy, you quickly put on the apron and headed to the front again. Hoseok was busy tending to the register. Ugh, this man was making you do complicated things like sorting out your feelings and thoughts. And this was something you never had to deal with in the ocean so this was kind of exciting.

Would Hoseok like something in a drama? Does he want his wrist grabbed then to be spun around and kissed? Of course you don't have any romantic music or fifty cameras capturing the moment from every angle. But that would be kind of too sudden, wouldn't it?

Today was a nice day. The day was sunny and a slight breeze blew through and it also made you feel kind of uneasy. This was the day that everyone went to the amusement park so you're kind of wondering how that went. Apparently, Hoseok broke up with Ae Ri two days ago and he came into work the next day fine. Like it didn't bother him at all or he was hiding it. Still, you kept quiet since you knew that it wasn't any of your business.

Biting the inside of your cheek, you're thinking maybe a drama like confession isn't right. You're not ready to kiss yet! Shaking your head, you scraped that idea off the list. Well, it was only one thing on the piece of paper you had but it was progress. Where are you going to find information on these types of things?

Oh! A word popped into your head and you dug quickly through the notebooks and found the one where it had places. Flipping through it, you came across the one you kind of remembered. "The library!" Getting dressed, you grabbed an empty notebook and headed on your way. You were right, the day was nice today.