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― twenty six.
a sigh escaped her lips as she stared at her feet. sat on the swings at a park near her house, inha chewed on her ice lolly, the refreshing taste helping clear her mind. after her and wooyoung parted ways, the girl had gone home briefly to eat dinner and get changed out of her school clothes. after that, she studied for a few hours, before deciding to go on a walk to get some fresh air. the house was stuffy for her, with constant reminders of her parents scattered around.
it wouldn't be long until the house and the rest of her father's belongings were gone and she would have to be rehomed. she dreaded meeting with his lawyer tomorrow, knowing that it would be a hassle dealing with it all.
"inha?" her ears perked up at the sound of her name, cutting off her train of thoughts as she turned to the source of the voice. she was surprised to find yeosang stood before her, not expecting him of all people to show up in front of her. her mood immediately lifted just at the sight of him, all her worries washed away as her features visibly softened.
however, her mood was quick to sour as she reminded herself that she wasn't happy with him. "what are you doing here?" she questioned, her tone dry.
he sighed, taking a seat on the swing next to her. "are you angry?" he questioned, wondering why the girl was giving him the cold shoulder. "what did i do wrong?" inha frowned, unable to gather her words to give him a valid answer. what did he do wrong? she wondered to herself. he hadn't actually done anything wrong, it was just inha who―
"is it about minji?"
"that." inha's frown seemed to grow deeper just at the mention of the girl's name.
"why? did she say something or do something to you?"
inha sighed exasperatedly, turning to the boy. she seemed to lose her composure for a second after meeting his eyes, her heart doing that weird thing where it speeds up without her consent. "why do you keep talking about her?" inha finally asked. yeosang stared at her, wondering if he had heard right. "i get that she was being mean, but you kept talking about her and she even came to your desk too." she continued, talking in pout as her tone was whining. "if you want to talk to minji so much then why are you here?" she finished, clearly angry at the boy but yeosang just stared at her, completely confused as to what just happened.
"are you jealous?" he finally asked, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. he didn't know why, but it made him happy to see inha so expressive. it was obvious that she was finally able to open up more about her feelings and be herself ― little did yeosang know is that inha was only like this with him.
inha paused, seeming deep in thought as she considered his accusation. yeosang panicked, waving his hands. "i was only joki―"
"what is it like being jealous?" she suddenly questioned, cutting him off. the boy stared in surprise, taken aback by her innocent question.
"it's like..." yeosang trailed off, wondering the best way to describe it. "when someone has something that you want." inha nodded, her mouth turning into an 'o' as she tried to apply what he had said to her situation.
"i guess you're right." she nodded, turning back to her ice lolly. "i want your attention on me, i don't want you to pay attention to what minji has to say." she suddenly confessed very nonchalantly. yeosang processed her words, staring at the girl wide eyed, wondering if she realised what she had said. however, watching as she continued to eat her lolly as if she didn't just confess her true feelings made yeosang wonder if he had imagined the whole interaction.
"you don't want me to talk about minji?" he questioned. although he only ever had her best interest when mentioning minji, he found it funny how she would get jealous over something like that.
"yeah," she nodded, confirming his suspicions. "it's not like what minji said bothers me, she isn't wrong." inha shrugged. however, her shoulders suddenly fell as she was reminded of her sad reality. "who would want to be with someone like me?" she wondered, more to herself as she had forgotten about yeosang's presence.
with a heavy exhale, the girl picked her head up, staring up at the starry night sky. it was the first time she had ever felt this way. she was always busy looking down, hiding away ― she had never realised how pretty the sky really was.
yeosang stared at the girl, wondering what he could say to reassure her.
"me." inha's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his answer, turning her head towards him to check if he was just joking. however, his seriousness made her even more nervous. she tried to laugh it off, shaking her head as she tore her gaze away from him.
"you're just saying that." however yeosang didn't say anything. he watched as the girl's smile saddened as if reality had hit her. a part of her wanted to believe yeosang, that she was worthy of someone's love. that she wasn't 'ruined' just because of the trauma she had gone through.
bravely, the boy reached over, gently pulling inha's swing close to his so she was forced to look at him. her wide eyes met his, the girl too shocked to say a word as she wondered what he was doing. yeosang, although he made a bold move, he seemed to hesitate as his gaze fell to her lips. he seemed to falter under her watch, his daring attitude losing its face very quickly.
"what are you..." inha trailed off, their eyes meeting once more, leaving her speechless as she fumbled under his strong gaze. that funny feeling in her chest was back ― she was beginning to realise that yeosang was the one always causing this feeling.
