Sugar Across The Hall | J. H.

VI.

♫- Walking In The Rain, Good Care, Never Leave Me, Thank You

"And?"
"And..." you survey your table of friends, waiting a second more for dramatic effect, "...the power came back on."
"Stop playing around," Haechan whines, hitting your shoulder repeatedly.
"Calm down; they totally kissed later," Says Jungwoo, downing the rest of his mimosa in one shot before raising his eyebrow at your silence. "You did kiss him, right?" The girl next to him rolls her eyes.
"She would have led with that if they did," Karina interjects, and then shoves more smoked salmon into her mouth.

"She's right, I did not kiss him," you confirm, blushing as you poke at the raspberries on your french toast.
"Oh but you definitely thought about it," Haechan coos, and it takes everything in you not to shove him off of his chair. Even though he was right. You did think about doing that. A lot.

In fact, nearly every time you've seen him since then you've felt your stomach drop to the floor, instantly teleported to that moment on the couch, with his fingers grazing your cheek and the candles flickering in your periphery.

"I'm just curious," Jaehyun finally speaks up from next to you, tossing his fork onto his plate and leaning back in his chair. "It's obvious you both like each other. Why haven't you just asked him out yet?"

Everyone turns and looks at him as if he just pulled a gun out from under the table.

"Have you lost your mind?"
"Does that sound like something Y/n would do?"
"Did you have too much to drink?"
"Would you all shut up," you laugh, turning to look at Jaehyun who threw his hands up in defeat.

"Honestly, you're kind of right," you admit, tracing the rim of your glass with your pointer finger. Not even a year ago you would have pounced on Joshua like a woman starved, asking for his number the second he showed up shirtless to your apartment. "We probably would have gone out by now if I was more forward."

But then you think about the last few weeks, the spices you've lent him, the elevator rides you've shared, the plot points you've theorized about in your shared show, the soju, the candles. Would it be so weird to admit that you like the buzz in your fingertips whenever he smiles at you, or the thrumming in your chest when he knocks on your door?

"I don't know. I think after I rushed into my last relationship, I'm really enjoying just...getting to know him." You can feel your face heating up again. "Like, as a person. Is that weird?"
Everyone collectively shakes their head, taking in what you said in a surprisingly thoughtful manner.

"It's definitely not weird," Jaehyun reassures you, raising his glass towards the middle of the table. "I think it's worth celebrating, actually."
"To the long game!" Haechan cheers, and you all follow suit and clink glasses together, downing whatever alcohol was left in them and laughing afterwards.

If there was one thing that made moving to the city the best decision ever, it was finally being closer to your old college friends. Mimosa Mondays would never get old, ever.

"I still think you should have kissed him, though. Would have made for one hell of a story to tell your future ki- OW!"

You kick Jungwoo under the table before he can spout anymore nonsense.

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. ✧˚₊‧⋆‧

Coffee in hand, you strut into the lobby of your apartment building, practically beaming despite being drenched.

Why?

On the way back from the restaurant about two city blocks ago, you caught a reflection of yourself in a shop window.

Knee high brown boots, cute plaid mini skirt, white button down and a long trench coat to pull it all together. One could argue that it's a bit much for brunch with your friends, but for once, you didn't care what anyone else thought of you.