When We're Together [양정완]

34.

"W-what are you talking about? We're just friends." Chae Aera quickly replied as she hid her increasingly embarrassed face from her friend.

"Then how come you two-" Luckily for Aera, Yoona's words were cut short by the sound of the bus doors opening, and the embarrassed girl quickly hopped up to get off.

~~~

Yang Jungwon sat alone in the lobby after dinner, scrolling on his phone. He was about to stand up to leave when suddenly he felt a hand tap his shoulder. The male turned to see none other than Baek Junhyun standing before him with a glare in his eyes.

"Yang Jungwon." Junhyun said bluntly as he clenched his jaw.

"Hm?" The cat-eyed boy responded calmly. He had a feeling he knew what the other boy was about to say, but he decided he should remain neutral.

Baek Junhyun felt his voice escape him as he tried to find the correct words for what he wanted to ask. "Do you like Chae Aera?"

Yang Jungwon took a deep breath while considering his answer. "Why?"

"Because I do." Suddenly both males jumped as they heard a voice gasp from just behind them. They turned to find a second-year girl covering her mouth in shock as she stared at them.

"You what? " Choi Baram looked on the verge of both laughing and crying as she stared at the Junhyun in disbelief.

Of course he liked Aera. Why wouldn't he? She was pretty, smart, kind, funny, and everything else. But how come it couldn't have been her for once? It wasn't even like she could hate her for it. It wasn't ever her fault.

Junhyun, as much as he seemed cold and tough on the outside, felt something shift in his mood as he watched Baram. He had never really noticed how cute she was, even if right now she looked as if she might slap him at any moment. But before he had the chance to say anything, the girl quickly ran off towards the stairs.

It was true that he liked Chae Aera. He always had since he first saw her in his homeroom class. But, as much as he wanted to have her for himself, he knew what really mattered was if she was happy. And, if he wasn't who did that for her then they weren't meant for each other.

The realization sort of stung. Baek Junhyun had been sought after by girls his whole life, but almost never found himself having feelings for them. Yet the one time he developed feelings for a girl, she didn't like him back.

The entire time the male had been deep in his thoughts, he hadn't even noticed Yang Jungwon sneaking off towards the elevators. By the time he had realized though, he was alone in the lobby.

~~~

Chae Aera tossed and turned in her hotel bed again. They were already over half way through their trip and she still felt like they had just arrived.

The other four girls were already asleep, so it wasn't like they could keep her entertained, and technically the students weren't permitted to leave their rooms past 11 pm, so that too was out of the question.

She tapped her phone screen to check the time. 1:04 am. The girl sighed as she rolled herself into a blanket burrito, hoping it would somehow magically put her to sleep. It didn't work.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. 1 new message.

Jungwon:
Are you up?

Aera:
Mhm

Jungwon:
Why

Aera:
What do you mean "why"
You're up too, dummy
read at 1:07 am

The girl was about to complain about the male leaving her on read again when suddenly a knock on the window made her jump.

She looked up to see Yang Jungwon peering through the window with pursed lips and squinted eyes as she scrambled out of bed and onto the balcony.

"My God- that scared me so bad." Aera sighed as she elbowed the boy. He chuckled and leaned over the railing of the balcony, looking out towards the skyline. But, it was so cold outside that they both decided it was probably a bad idea to be out in just their pajamas.

"Should we go in?" the male suggested. Aera nodded, but just as the two were about to enter their respective rooms, a fluttering, white snowflake fell on the girl's nose. She gasped and quickly turned around, smiling brightly at the confused boy.

"Look! Look! It's snowing!" Just as the words escaped her lips, a flurry of snow flakes blew past them.

The pair stood, quietly admiring the first snow of the season for a few minutes. Suddenly, Aera realized; the first snow of the season, and she was with Yang Jungwon.