This Friend | Yeonbin

10

Soobin P.O.V

We swim for a while and then walk back up the beach, toward the car, with towels wrapped around our waists. We collect our shoes, and then Yeonjun goes up to the public shower and turns it on. He gestures to me, but I shake my head, so he steps under the spray.

He closes his eyes and dips his head under. His hair gets pressed flat, and water runs down his chest. For someone who games so much, he’s clearly found a way to stay in great shape.

Because damn.

I catch myself staring, and I look away. I know this is just a friends thing, but I can’t help myself.

He’s the first person I’ve ever talked to who seems to like all the same stuff that I do. Our interests line up really well. Mostly we talked about games, because it’s clearly the thing he likes most in the world.

He plays big franchises like World of Warcraft, Pokémon, and Minecraft, but also likes indie games like Factorio, Don’t Starve, and Stardew Valley.

Currently he’s playing the new God of War game and loving every second of it.

Once he’s done, I shower, and then we both get dressed. I still feel a little salty, though. It’s, like, clinging to me.

“Better?’ he asks.

“Yeah, much.”

“Cool. Want me to drive you home? I need to head out soon, I’ve got homework.”

“Yeah, me too. And, um, is that okay?”

“Yeah, sure is. I don’t make offers to do things I don’t actually want to do. I feel like that doesn’t do anyone any favors, you know?”

“Totally. I’m the same.”

I’m so not, though. I constantly bend over backward to try to keep people happy.

We climb into his car. He starts playing the Killers through the speakers.

Just when I think this night couldn’t get any more perfect.

Too soon, we reach my place. To be honest, I’m not ready to stop hanging out with him. He turns off the engine, which makes the car feel really still. We’re lit by streetlights, and the neon-blue dash of his car.

“Nice place,” he says, looking out at my house. I guess it does look pretty cool. It’s all one level, and I know it’s big. It’s white, with terra-cotta roofing, and is surrounded by greenery.

The driveway is empty, so I guess Dad and Taehyun are still out. That’s good.

It means nobody is going to ask me where I’ve been.

“Thanks. Whereabouts do you live, by the way?”

“Gladeview.”

“Oh, nice.”

That’s right on the edge of our territory. We control it, but only just.

I don’t want to think about that, though.

“Yeah.”

I notice that the night is winding down, and I don’t want to chicken out.

“Hey, um,” I say.

“Yeah?”

“Could I maybe get your number? Is that okay?”

He grins. “And what exactly would you want with that?”

“You know, just I dunno.”

“Shark bait wants my number. How amazing.”

“I’m not shark bait! Just tell me: Are you going to give it to me or not?”

For a second I think he isn’t.

But then he puts out his hand.

I retrieve my phone, unlock it, and swipe through to my contacts book. I hand it to him, and he starts entering his details. Then he hands it back.

“I was going to ask you, if you didn’t,” he says. “Just FYI.”

“Oh, really?”

He smiles. “Yeah, course.”

And oh man. His smile is really cute. I love how it changes the whole way he looks. Normally he looks kind of serious, because his features are so handsome.

But when he smiles, he looks a little like a sweetheart. Like the kind of guy who’d earnestly go for school council, or get upset if he gets a bad grade because he doesn’t want to disappoint his teacher.

Maybe that’s the sort of guy he really is. Maybe his macho thing is just an exterior.

I know about that. Too well.

“Um, cool,” I say. “That’s nice to know.”

I feel like this conversation could go further, but I don’t know where to take it.

“Well,” he says. “Later.”

“Yeah, I’ll message you.”

“Already looking forward to it.”

I don’t know what to say to that, so I leave the car. I hurry up to my front door, unlock it, and then step inside. Eddie is standing by the door, whimpering and wagging his tail. I scratch between his ears, in the spot I know he likes best, then go to my room. Because Taehyun isn’t home, he follows me.

I text Dad, telling him I got an Uber home. Then I strip down to my underwear and fall backward onto my bed. Eddie jumps up and joins me. I put my hand on his flank and give him the occasional belly scratch.

And then I spend about an hour lying in bed in the dark, just thinking.

It takes me that long to come to the realization.

He entered his details.

Maybe he included a last name?

My heart racing, I check

And see that he left the last-name field totally blank.