Hot Chocolate || RYEJI

20

BAM!

Yeji and Soobin collectively flinches at the sound of the balcony door hitting the nearby wall. Their conversation was cut short immediately. Soobin wasn't happy about it because they were just catching up. On the other hand, Yeji's cat eyes widens at the sight of Ryujin by the door.

"Ryujin? What's wrong?"

The girl in question spares Soobin a glance before standing up straight, wiping the beads of sweat off her forehead. "Can we talk?" she asks the brunette, pressing on an apologetic smile.

Yeji glances at the boy beside her, feeling relieved when Soobin sends her a smile with a nod. "Okay then." She follows Ryujin inside, causing the boy to descend downstairs to give them privacy. "So?" Yeji tilts her head after they enter an empty room.

"I like you," Ryujin confesses boldly. Her orbs were slightly shaking, mirroring the fear of rejection deep within her. "I'm sorry for what I did last night. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable because I was unfortunately drunk and wasn't aware of my boundaries. I don't know if you feel the same way, and it's totally understandable if you don't. But... I just want to tell you before I regret not saying anything."

Yeji is shocked, of course. But that doesn't stop her from laughing at the robotic way the other girl seemed to talk in whenever she was nervous. It reminds her of that night when they made up.

She's absolutely adorable.

"Sorry?" Ryujin's eyes increases in size, and that's when Yeji realizes that she accidentally said that out loud. "Did you just—"

"I like you too, Ryujin," Yeji mumbles, successfully diverting her attention to the topic at hand instead of her embarrassing comment. She's noticed that she's a lot more timid when it comes to Ryujin, and it's uncanny to her how different that is. Yeji is normally an outgoing, relaxed person, but that all comes undone when she's around the latter. "I didn't know you felt the same way, actually... I was surprised last night and left you in the bedroom, so I'm sorry for that. I needed to process things and I didn't want to accidentally hurt you in the process, but it seems that I kind of did so. Nonetheless, I don't regret it. Because if I hadn't, maybe you wouldn't have confessed, so I'm glad."

Ryujin looks away when the feline-eyed gives her a heart-warming smile. She's reminded of the first day that she saw the brunette angel at the café, with these exact crescent-shaped eyes and those bright pink lips that curved up into something just as warm as the hot chocolate she gave her. And not only that, she's reminded of why she fell for her in the first place.

"Hey," she says gently, catching the other's attention, "Did you know that I liked you ever since you gave me that hot chocolate?"

Yeji is taken aback. "Really?"

"Yeah," Ryujin admits shyly, scratching her nape, "It sounds strange but I guess it was love at first sight."

Yeji smirks. "So you love me?"

"Okay, well— I wouldn't say it's love yet," Ryujin lets out a breathy laugh, also making Yeji mirror her in return. In result, her giggles comes to a stop and she's suddenly captivated by the melodious laughs from Yeji. It's a beautiful moment. It feels like time stops for a while and Ryujin's breath is taken away. She would never get sick of that contagious smile, nevertheless that adoring laugh. It's safe to say that Hwang Yeji is the most pulchritudinous person she's ever seen. With that lasting thought, she couldn't help but ask, "Can I kiss you?"

The instant those words leaves her soft lips, the room settles into silence. The quietness is welcomed, though, as it allows the brunette to process the proposal she just received. And once it gets through her thick skull of denial, Yeji's lips break out in a grin and this time, she leans in.

It's when their lips meet that Ryujin realizes, this is it. All the passing glances, subtle brushes of the skin, and shamelessly using Toothless as an excuse to see the other. It's all worth it in the end because her feelings are reciprocated.

And all of it started with a cup of hot chocolate.