past, present, and future | hwang hyunjin

t w e n t y - o n e

c h a p t e r   t w e n t y - o n e

"Not today, just maybe sometime in the future. Hopefully it's not awkward. It probably will be. Hopefully we'll stay friends or something. It probably won't happe-" I rambled out of nervous energy.

"Oh my god!" Sana started doing little mini jumps, squealing with excitement. "My favorite real life K-drama is finally coming true! After so long!"

"Chill, chill. It's just a decision. I don't even know if that's actually going to happen." I clarified quickly.

"But this is probably the best decision you've ever made in your entire life!" Sana looked so happy, like she was about to fly out to the moon. "Oh my god, I almost can't believe this! It's great! So exciting!"

"Ha. Very funny," I deadpanned, trying to act cold.

"Oh, and by the way. You know the Bite Me cover that the fans wanted you to do? Well JYP actually approved of it, so you're going into rehearsal first thing tomorrow," Sana informed me with a smile that turned into a small smirk.

"Wait, what? So I'm going to be dancing interesting choreography that totally doesn't suggest some explicit meaning with Hyunjin?" My mouth hung agape, unable to close back up.

"Yup, exactly! It's like a dance collaboration. The fans are so excited it's actually kind of funny. You're performing it on Music Core soon. How do I know? Well I woke up early and responsibly checked my schedule. And yours. And recent K-pop news, which is this," Sana nodded excitedly at her own words.

Oh, great. My poor heart would not be able to handle that.

Welp, here goes nothing.

- - -

"Like this?" I asked Hyunjin. I had made a speedy recovery from the cold, and no one else had contracted it from me, so we were in our very first rehearsal session. And we were learning the basic non-chorus choreography. But Hyunjin wanted to change it to be more interactive. And that's how I ended up having to trace a hand down his thigh for one movement. Ended up getting my heartbeat up to a million beats per second. Not too great, if you ask me.

"Yup, that looks about right," Hyunjin nodded. It was like he was in a zone, like a dancing zone. Once he was in it, there was no coming out. He didn't play around, like he usually would, but instead was very serious, like he was during the variety show.

We continued our practice. It was tiring. Like in the variety show, Hyunjin wanted everything to be perfect. So he kept making me try until I got it right. This time around, however, I didn't find it annoying. How feelings could change over such a short time. He had proven himself to be worthy of my trust, though, Somehow.

My trust was not an easy thing to earn.

"I need a water break!" I complained Hyunjin made me redo another part of the dance. He added so many confusing steps that I just couldn't get right. I knew that I should work hard, and I did, but right now I desperately needed some water.

Hyunjin nodded his approval, and I quickly went to where our two small JYP water bottles were placed on the ground.

There was only one problem: They looked the exact same.

So... I couldn't tell which one was mine. It's just a 50/50 chance, right? It's not too much of a big deal.

But after I picked up one of them randomly, chugged some water, and put it back down, I turned around to find Hyunjin staring at me.

"That's my water," He said, still staring me straight in the eye so intensely that it made my stomach churn.

At that, I somehow happened to choke on my own spit. The second time we indirectly kissed? A blush immediately rose up on my cheeks. Why was I blushing so often?

Hyunjin got up and awkwardly walked over to pat my back. "Are you okay?" He asked me, concerned.

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, but you really did not have to mention that."

Hyunjin just chuckled. "It was funny to see your reaction."

I slowly raised my hand at him. Well, I guess it's a good thing that he turned away because otherwise, he would've seen my beautiful middle finger straight in his face.

- - -

"Ugh, I'm exhausted," I sighed, still panting.

"Well, at least we got all the choreo down," Hyunjin tried to say. It did not help. But then he had an idea. "Do you want to go grab a drink somewhere? It might help your energy and mood a little."

I eagerly nodded, already imagining the taste of a good fruit drink before realizing it meant that I would have to go alone. With him. Shit. That was going to be a great experience.

In literal terms, yes. It would be a great experience. That's because I love spending time with him.

On other terms, well my poor heart was going to be working overtime again, wasn't it? Oh, I really gave it too many tasks this time. I honestly feel kind of bad.

"Well, then let's go!" Hyunjin exclaimed. He looked really excited, and I was happy just seeing him happy. Was that what liking someone meant? If they're happy, you're happy?

Hyunjin's hand wrapped around my wrist instinctively to drag me, before realizing that he might trigger a memory. But it didn't, now it was just Hyunjin's hand around my arm. Even though he pulled away soon after, a look of guilt on his face, I immediately grabbed his hand. Intertwining our fingers, I yelled. "Yeah! I love drinks. Want to go to that one new place that just opened? It looked really good when I searched it up."

The boy next to me seemed genuinely surprised at my action, as if he never in a million years would've imagined that we would be holding hands. Time really does change things, doesn't it?

Ha, if only he knew.

"Y-yeah, sure!" Hyunjin stuttered. Hold on, he was stuttering? Why? The first few times I met him he was as arrogant as fuck, I'm really not kidding, and he was always smirking. Now it was my turn to smirk.

"Cat got your tongue?" I teased, sticking my tongue out at him as a joke. "Well, mine is still here, see-"

I was cut off before I could finish by Hyunjin screaming something like "I hate you!" which was really funny.

I wished I could cherish those moments forever.